This week they are releasing an all-new Continental Pilsner, simply titled “PILS.” PILS will be available year-round on draft and in six packs of 12 oz bottles. Why a Pilsner? Simply put, most of us at the brewery love this style of beer. It’s usually the first beer they seek out when they visit a new town or another brewery. Whenever the ageless “desert island beer” conversation comes up, one Pilsner or another gets an impassioned debate. The only problem was, Fulton had never brewed a Pils. So, they set out to make a great one. Ours is built on a base of Minnesota-malted Rahr Pilsner. It features a smooth, well-rounded bitterness provided by German Perle, and a pleasantly floral aroma provided by the style’s hallmark Saaz hops. Pilsner yeast punctuates the beer with a beautifully clean finish. At 5.3% ABV and 30 IBU, this is a beer that leaves your senses wanting for nothing – except another.

It’s always exciting to add a new beer to their repertoire. In the 10 years since they started homebrewing in a one car South Minneapolis garage, they have come to appreciate and enjoy nearly every style of beer. To us, a large part of what drew us to homebrewing was the ability to create any beer, with their imaginations being pretty much the only limitation. As the number of styles and substyles of beer continues to grow and evolve, and the quality and diversity of ingredients available to brew with grows as well, the permutations and combinations of recipe possibilities approaches infinity—or at least a number way higher than they can count. But as a production brewery, the unfortunate reality is that there is a finite number of tap handles and shelf spots in the world; they can’t brew every beer they want, all the time.

So begins the long process of narrowing down the world of endless choice to perhaps a couple dozen beers that will appear in their lineup over the period of a year. Many are small releases of only a few hundred cases and a few dozen kegs. Some are draft only, and some never even make it out of their taproom. A handful make it into their year-round lineup. If you’ve ever drank a Fulton, you’d had one of these. For the first five years of Fulton’s existence, they had only two Core beers – Lonely Blonde and Sweet Child of Vine. they were unusual in that way; most breweries have four or five year-round beers the first day they open for business. they chose to do fewer because they believed investing their efforts in perfecting just a couple beers rather than a half dozen or more made long term sense, in terms of quality of beer and of building brand recognition. Meanwhile they quenched their fans’—and their own—thirst for variety by releasing a growing number of seasonals. First came Worthy Adversary, then Libertine. Later on, it was Expat, Randonneur, and many many more. In 2014, after years of it being a taproom favorite, they added The Ringer to their year-round lineup. Last year, they increased their Core lineup to 5 beers, with the addition of 300 IPA and Standard Lager. In total, they brewed about 25 beers in 2016, with 16 of those making it out in both draft and package formats.

So they have finally have a full calendar of year-round and seasonal beers, and it took just seven years to build. What to do now? Tear it up, of course! Well, not entirely…but substantially. In the name of creative destruction, they have re-worked much of their lineup this year. they are introducing some all-new beers, making some familiar favorites into taproom exclusives, and even retiring a few.

The biggest change: to make room for PILS, The Ringer is moving out of their year-round lineup. Ringer loyalists need not fear, as it will continue to be available in the taproom on a regular basis. And the last of the bottles are still on shelves of some stores, so you may still be able to pick up a sixer for a short time.

There have been even more changes in the seasonal camp. Last month they released a brand-new NE-style Session IPA, “Hopstar.” It’s been in such a high demand that it’s gone from their warehouse already, so if you see it on shelves, grab it while you can, because they are out except for a few kegs that their taproom will continue to pour. Meanwhile, in the “addition by subtraction” column, they have drawn back on their saison lineup. You may have noticed Randonneur didn’t appear in bottles this year. they have dialed that back to a taproom-only release, which is pouring now. their other two saisons, Expat and Maitrise, have retired. Does that mean you’ll never taste them again? Not necessarily, but they don’t yet have a timetable for their return.

Read more at source The Full Pint