got this from an email from the brewery, i don't think this info has been posted up yet here.
"Fall is here, bringing its proverbial frost on the pumpkin and a handful of tasty fall beers from Smuttynose and the Portsmouth Brewery. Predictably, both batches of the Portsmouth Brewery's Octoberfest beer came and went in a hurry, though our Pumpkin Ale and Hop Harvest (2) are on, while they last. At Smuttynose, we've started shipping our Winter Ale, as well as our Big Beer Scotch Ale.
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Well, it looks like we've made it through the Summer of Sans Hops. We received our first shipment of 2008 harvested Cascades last week and it was almost enough to make this old brewer cry. The initial reports are of a bumper crop and it looks like we've turned the corner on the hop shortage. Of course the prices haven't come down yet, but I guess expensive hops are better than no hops. Even though new hops are slowly arriving we're still have a few malt forward beers lined up in the Big Beer Series.
Right now we have our Scotch Ale bottled and in the stores. This is a classic Scottish style ale which we've brewed with a touch of smoked grain. Last year we tried peat smoked malt, but returned this year to a beech wood smoked malt as we felt it added a smoother character.
Next up will be the long awaited return of the Really Old Brown Dog Ale. This beer was initially brewed in honor of our friend and mascot, the late Olive Francis Egelston. The original batch was more in the vein of a brown porter / old ale. We've revised the recipe to be more like an old ale / English barleywine. It's fermenting away right now and smells amazing. We're planning on finishing the beer with a few weeks on some port soaked oak chips. I have really high hopes for this beer and can't wait to check out the blend of big malt notes with the port wood. As we head into winter here in New England I can only imagine how great this beer will be on a cold evening. You should be able to see this beer in stores by mid-December
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First the news - Over the next couple of months, Smuttynose will be releasing its first new full-time beer since we introduced our IPA in 2004. Named Star Island Single, our new session ale will be available initially on draft, followed by bottles shortly after the new year.
As Dave alluded to in his notes above, now that we know what our hops situation is, we are committed to significantly increasing our production of Big Beers in the year 2009.
Now a juicy rumor - we are considering making our entire Big Beer Series available to individuals on a subscription basis, starting with our as-of-yet-unnamed Belgian Quad, our first 2009 release. Details will be outlined in our next newsletter, just in time for the holidays."