Craft beer variety packs -- better than breakfast cereal

Remember those variety packs of breakfast cereal -- the ones with miniature boxes of Froot Loops, Frosted Flakes and Cheerios all cellophaned together? Having the choice of a different breakfast every morning was fun and exciting, and craft beer variety packs can elicit the same sense of excitement from beer lovers, albeit (hopefully) later on in the day.

Mixed packs of craft beer have become a popular way for breweries to showcase the breadth of their offerings, and there’s no shortage of options from breweries across the country. These mixed packs highlight craft beer’s love of diversity, and they’re a great way to try something different. Here are four examples of new assortments from California breweries that include two coffee-infused stouts, pungent IPAs and a long-wished for variant of Stone Brewing’s Arrogant Bastard.

Sierra Nevada -- Snowpack

The seasonal mixed-packs that the Chico craft brewery has released this year have found a great balance of classic brews and exciting exclusive offerings. The fall/winter boxes include the requisite Sierra Nevada Pale Ale (still one of the best American pale ales on the planet) alongside the stalwart -- but underrated -- Sierra Nevada Porter. A new IPA -- Boomerang -- joins the classic brews. It features a heavy dose of Southern Hemisphere hops that showcase ripe tropical fruit aromas and a bracingly bitter finish.

The stand-out of the box is the Coffee Stout, an exceptional showcase of rich roasted stout flavors, a bright coffee flavor reminiscent of a third-wave cold brew, and the signature Sierra Nevada bitter and hoppy finish. The brew is worth the price of admission on its own.

Saint Archer -- The Variety Pack

New to the crowded San Diego brewing scene, Saint Archer has been expanding its distribution footprint, dialing in core brews and releasing some really nice special brews (the Girl Skateboard collaboration Pilsner and Coffee Brown in particular), and now it’s joined the mixed-pack trend with a 12-pack of cans. The boxes include three each of the approachable Blonde Ale (a crisp Kolsch) and White Ale (winner of a gold medal at this year’s Great American Beer Festival), the intensely hoppy and dry IPA, and it’s the only place where you can get the brewery’s Double IPA in cans. This variety pack is a great way to get a feel for the beers that this new brewery is offering.

Firestone Walker -- Winter Bundle

Instead of a 12-pack of 12-ounce bottles (or cans), Paso Robles’ Firestone Walker has a four-pack of 22-ounce “bombers” that include three core brews and once special limited edition release. The brewery’s flagship DBA -- an English-style pale ale -- anchors the box alongside the superlative Union Jack IPA and Wookey Jack black rye IPA. All three beers are best-in-show worthy, but it’s the brewery’s seasonal oatmeal stout that makes this mixed-pack particularly attractive.

The brewery added cocoa nibs and Intelligentsia espresso beans to its creamy Velvet Merlin to create Velvet Mocha Merlin, and it’s special indeed. (And it is available only in the Winter Bundle.)

Stone Brewing -- Bastard Box

Seventeen years ago, Stone Brewing made a name with arrogant marketing and popularized a new style (American strong ale) with Arrogant Bastard Ale. To celebrate the anniversary of that disruptive brew, the San Diego super-brewery put together a four-pack of Arrogance that includes the original Arrogant Bastard (when was the last time you sat down with one of these?), the amped-up favorite Double Bastard and the once-a-year release of Lukcy Basartd Ale. The latter brew is, apart from a copy editor’s nightmare, a blend of Arrogant Bastard, Double Bastard and the Oaked Arrogant Bastard variant. The whole cuvee then gets dry hopped for even more hop intensity, and the result is emblematic of the Stone Brewing ethos. It’s unabashedly huge in flavor, with a punishing bitterness and deep, rich malt flavors -- with the alcohol content to match.

Stone hasn’t forgotten to add a special, exclusive variety brew to its mixed-pack. The Bastard Box also includes the long wished-for Bourbon Barrel-Aged Arrogant Bastard.