Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager is the fourth and final beer in Dovetail Brewery’s seasonal Hopfenlager series, and it is a tribute to Sierra Nevada Celebration. Chicago’s Dovetail scheduled the release for Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026, per Jolly Pint, which reports the details as the brewery published them.
What Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager is made of
Dovetail says its Hopfenlager beers are “lagers we design to showcase the fun, wide world of hops.” For this one, the brewery says it added a little caramel malt to the grain bill and chose the “C” hops: Chinook, Cascade and Centennial. The inspiration is production manager Brittany’s favorite beer, Celebration, which Dovetail calls one of the earliest American-style IPAs to showcase new American hops.
Those three hops line up with Celebration itself. Our own post on Sierra Nevada Celebration 2026 lists Cascade, Centennial and Chinook, citing Sierra Nevada’s beer page, for the 45th edition of that Fresh Hop IPA.
- Style: hoppy lager
- Malt: caramel malt in the grain bill
- Hops: Chinook, Cascade and Centennial
- ABV: not stated (Jolly Pint lists N/A)
What double-decocted means
Here is the process, in plain Earth language. Jolly Pint explains that a double decoction draws portions of the mash off, boils them and returns them, to build malt depth. That is a traditional European method, and Dovetail’s beer page lists decoction, open fermentation, coolship rests and horizontal lagering for several of its beers. For this beer, Dovetail says:
- hops go in at flameout and in the coolship, a shallow, open vessel where hot wort cools, “for increased aromatics”;
- the beer is open-fermented;
- it is matured in horizontal lagering tanks, which Dovetail says aids “a smooth drinking experience to enjoy round after round at your holiday table.”
So the plan for Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager is to put a very American hop bill through a very Old World brewhouse. The Bureau approves of the culture clash.
Where to find Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager
Dovetail was set to tap a gravity keg of Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager at its taproom around 6 p.m. on Oct. 22 and fill Dovetail one-liter steins at a special price, which was not specified. The taproom is at 1800 W. Belle Plaine Ave. in Chicago, per the brewery’s site.
Draft and four-packs are slated for Chicagoland starting “next week,” per Jolly Pint, which the Bureau reads as the week of Oct. 26 based on the report’s Oct. 19 date. Wisconsin, DC and Virginia, and New York follow, with no dates given.
What we still don’t know about Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager
- The ABV, which neither Dovetail nor Jolly Pint states.
- The price of the four-packs and the special steins.
- The exact distribution dates outside Chicagoland.
- How it tastes. Dovetail’s description is about process, and we have not tried it.
The Bureau is working from one secondary report that quotes the brewery. If Dovetail posts a can label or an ABV, we will update this Dovetail Winter Hopfenlager post.
Transmission complete. Please lager responsibly.
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