New Man in Charge at Newport Storm: The SheRIff of Rock RIdge

Watch out! The SheRIff of Rock RIdge is here and this latest barrel aged brew from Newport Storm Brewery is nothing to scoff at. The no-nonsense label reads “Dark Malts, Belgian Yeast, Oak  Barrels, Time” which seems pretty straight forward, but one look at this beer poured fresh out of the bottle and  you realize it’s anything but.

A recipe of chocolate wheat, North American oats, pale malt and wheat malt was chosen for the base  beer and was then locked away in eight Thomas Tew Rum barrels for safe keeping. Brewing with high proportions of intense darker malts brought forth aroma and tastes similar to that of a rich coffee roast and baker’s chocolate. With The SheRIff, the Storm brewers wanted to dabble into natural spiciness adding in German chocolate rye, a malt never before used in the brew house, and an aggressive Belgian yeast strain. After five months in the heavily charred wooden barrels, big flavors of caramel, toffee, oak and aged rum gently seeped into the brew, creating complex layered flavors ready to be consumed!

Close to 150 cases of this pitch black brew were made and distribution of The SheRIff will begin locally next week.  As far as consumption goes, suggested retail purchase would be two bottles. The first to savor with friends and family out by the campfire on a cool summer night and the second to stash away, perhaps even save for a winters eve. “Trust us, you’ll want to crack open that first 
bottle as soon as you get your hands on it,” says Brew Master Derek Luke, “but I challenge all of you to see how long you can let that second bottle age for because this rich and complex brew is only going to get better with time.”

For more information on where you can track down The SheRIff of Rock Ridge and all of Newport Storm’s beers go to NewportStorm.com or like Newport Storm Beer on Facebook at Facebook.com/NewportStorm.