With the spate of new imports into Alberta recently, combined with general summeriness to contend with, I admit I have allowed a few new prairie beer releases to slip by me. So this post is meant to make up for that. Many of you will know this already, but here is a rundown on some of the latest seasonal beer releases around the prairies:

• To celebrate its 6th anniversary, last Saturday Half Pints launched something old and something new. This year’s version of Humulus Ludicrous, their raucous Double IPA, is out and along with it comes a brand new beer, Noche De Los Alebrijes, a dark lager inspired (it seems) by both Mexican and German influences. I fully expect HL will make its way to Alberta, but no word on whether Noche will also make the trek.
• Wild Rose has once again released its AF23 Pale Ale, a tap-only offering named in honour of the green Quonset in which they make their home on the former Currie Barracks in Calgary. They say that it is a single-hop pale ale, using only Bravo. This will be hard to find, as it will only be served at the Tap Room and select accounts in the Calgary area.
• The latest in Alley Kat’s Double IPA series is out. Indigo Dragon steps away from their experimentation with single-hopping as it has both Warrior and Cascade in it. I haven’t had it yet, but the combination has potential. I quite like the bitterness Warrior brings to beer, but it has very little aroma, which is where the Cascade might come in handy. Alley Kat has also announced that Pumpkin Pie will be released September 6, this year coming in 650 ml bottles.

And in random other news, I will be hosting a beer tasting tomorrow night (August 23) at the Devonian Botanic Gardens. I am a bit of an add-on to their weekly Date Nights they have been running all summer, where in addition to seeing the beautiful gardens, there is entertainment, meal specials and other activities. I will be offering samples (I think they are charging $1 per sample) of three different beer between 5:30 and 7:30, before some dancing lessons kick in. A little bit of beer might loosen up those limbs for dancing.