The first of these, an imperial milk stout, is on tap at a handful of spots in Colorado and around the country; it will go on tap Saturday at Freshcraft.
The beer, known as AA Step 1, is a creamy blend of Left Hand's Milk Stout, Wake Up Dead imperial stout, and a version of Widdersins barleywine aged in Stranahan's Colorado Whiskey barrels.
"We're allowing our brewers to play," says Left Hand marketing director Chris Lennart. "We're hoping to get out a couple more this year, but we're not sure when the next one will come." It depends on when there is a hole in the brewing calendar.
Only sixty barrels will be made of each beer, or roughly 100 to 120 kegs, and they'll be spread around the country. "Some states will only get two or three. Colorado gets twenty or thirty," Lennart says. "It's designed to let our sales crew get out there and have fun."
The first twelve Ambidextrous beers will be known as Steps 1-12 in an irreverent nod to Alcoholics Anonymous, which shares the same initials as Ambidextrous Ale. After that, Lennart says, the brewery will identify them using the word "Relapse" in the names.
Left Hand describes its beer like this: "This dual threat beer pours deep mahogany capped by a creamy white head. The beer is equal parts dessert and coffee with aromas of dates, vanilla and figs countered by licorice, roast malt and mild espresso. The taste follows suit with plum pudding, chocolate covered fig newtons and chocolate cream cheese frosting which gets swept away by whiskey spiked coffee and licorice. The body is medium full with a slight warming finish."
