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Summer Is Made For Drinking Beer

~ Bearcat ~ Leave a comment

Summer Beer 2

It is Memorial Day Weekend which means that even though the Northeast is under frost advisories it is the beginning of summer.  Summer time is a great season for craft beers.  The seasonal offerings get lighter, crisper and the ABV generally goes down a bit.  Perfect beer for sharing a few with friends.

As is typical for beer blogs, I am going highlight some great beers you should seek out for this summer season but I hope these are beers you don’t necessarily see on other lists.

DreamWeaver Wheat Ale by Troegs:  This South German-Style Hefeweizen is not a seasonal and is widely available year round.  Pepper and clove notes, a crisp short finish and low 4.5% ABV make this beer incredibly drinkable.  When my in-laws host a cook-out during the summer months more likely than not a case of this is my contribution.  DreamWeaver only comes in bottles and frankly summer calls for cans so be sure to also check out Sunshine Pils.  It is crisp and clean and hopped just right for hot days.  It might be my favorite Pilsner.

Shiner Ruby Redbird by Spoetzl Brewery:  This grapefruit infused summer beer clocks in at 4% ABV.  Grapefruit and a hint of ginger in the nose.  This is another easy drinking beer that would be a good introduction to fruit beers for the novice craft drinker.  Not super easy to find but priced right.  Buy a six pack of bottles or cans and share it with a friend on the back porch.

New Belgium Brewing’s Folly 12 Pack of Cans: Slow Ride Session IPA, Fat Tire Amber Ale, Ranger IPA and Snapshot Wheat.  New Belgium is only now getting its feet in the door of PA distribution but I have been seeking them out each time I leave the Commonwealth.  This 12 pack offers four great beers and all are in cans which makes for an excellent and easy way to tailgate, drink at the shore or just lay poolside without worry.  This is my favorite mix pack for summer.

Witte by Ommegang:  The perfect beer for a nice dinner on the back deck.  If you have grilled up some fresh fish or local vegetables and need to pair it with something impressive but still light and refreshing I suggest Witte.  Flavorful as it is hazy it will work well on those warm nights and be a refreshing ale to share with a friend.

Red Stripe Jamaican Lager:  I can almost hear the audible groan from some of my readers. But drinking this beer extra cold on a blazing hot day straight from the bottle gets me every time.  Yes, I know it’s an adjunct lager and falls into the yellow fizzy category but this beer tastes like relaxation.  I have been to St. Thomas USVI a bunch of times and buying one of these out of a vendor boy’s cooler just makes the day taste better.  Drink it straight from the bottle and relax.  Sometimes you just want a beer and not get all fussy about the complexity; even if it is likely brewed in Latrobe, PA.

Dale’s Pale Ale by Oskar Blues Brewing:  This classic pale ale has some grapefruit notes and piney floral hops.  If you are banging and picking steamed Chesapeake blue crabs this is the perfect can of beer to hold down the newspaper.  I suggest springing for the big 19.2 oz cans.  It marries perfectly with the Old Bay and mild crab meat in my opinion.  I can hardly think of a better way to enjoy a summer day.  Pro-tip: Never use a hammer when eating blue crabs.

Cheers!

Costly Beer vs. Expensive Beer

~ Bearcat ~ 8 Comments

Hater Tears

Recently the cost of beer has been an interesting subject.  First, Thrillist.com had a long story about the impending craft beer war. The point here being that price will be where the various craft brewers compete in the near future.  This would inherently drive the cost down on many beers.  Some brewers are already producing on the razors edge economically and others are pushing for rapid expansion to achieve the very real economies of scale.  There is a coming bloodbath.  Anyone that follows the industry closely knows it.  There is a bubble.  It will burst someday.

Earlier this week Drunkspin’s Will Gordon pondered the price of beer at length and never really came to an answer other than “Is all beer overpriced?”

The next day, Albert Kominski took to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to defend selling 750mL bottles of barrel aged sours for $33 apiece.  His response was lengthy by social media standards but cogent at the same time.

Over the years I have spoken with Al far more than any other brewer I know.  He is always quick to greet me when he sees me in his establishment and gives me a few minutes of his clearly busy schedule to discuss what I am having and what else on the big board is worth picking up for my next draft.  I say this to mean that as far as I can tell, Al gives a damn about his customers and always has.

In my opinion, Al has exceptional taste when it comes to curating his offerings, brewing beer, and together with Terry Hawbaker has been delivering very high quality beer.  Al has been doing this well enough and for long enough to have an exceptional resume and a trusted responsibility to his customers.

So when Al sells a beer for $33 bucks a pop it’s because in his mind it’s worth it and/or he needs to charge that amount.  Is it costly?  Yes it is.  Is it expensive?  Not necessarily.  Keep in mind that those two things, costly and expensive, are not the same. (Please check out that link… I can’t say it better.) These beers, as Al pointed out in the above and here provided links, are costly to develop.  That does not necessarily make them expensive.

Do I wince at $33 a bottle?  Sure… but I also don’t tell other people how to spend their money.  Which as far as I can tell is where the debate started.  Al took exception to a patron telling others that the beer was overpriced.  He was right to do so.

The Internet flame war that ensued was typical.  It was also mostly BS being thrown around.

Making beer is hard work.  Making exceptional beer is both hard work and costly.  Making exceptional, barrel aged, small batch, sour beers with hundreds of pounds of fruit and literally years of work is a serious and costly endeavor that can go belly up for reasons that are not completely under the control of the brewer.  There is risk.  The risk can be great.  The investment in money and time is real.

So when I see a $33 bottle of beer do I wince?  Yes, I wince at the thought of how much work and money must have gone into just 750mL of beer.

Post Script: I think what Al is doing by going up market, dramatically so, is skating to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been.  Down market is a losing proposition and is already owned by huge corporate interest.  The economies of scales of SABMiller and InBev cannot be matched.  So why go there?  The only place it go it up.  Way up. This is the fundamental concept behind disruption from above and is a guiding principle of the craft brewing industry. There is a market at the top and selling artfully crafted rare and costly beer is the way to develop a hopefully safe space when the impending bloodbath ensues.

Bearcat on Podcast

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Right before the end of Harrisburg Beer Week I ran into the fun trio of podcasters that record and produce The Beer Busters Podcast. I’ve been a faithful listener for quite a while and was happy to finally meet Steph, and the brothers Wayne and Dan. 

The three were kind enough the next day at the Little Big Beer Fest to ask me to join them on the show. I had the lucky but unenviable task of helping to wrap up a huge show. This was not my first podcast. This was not my first podcast after having a few beers. Come to think of it… I’ve never podcasted sober.

But this was a professional quality podcast. The Beer Busters are excellent at their job. Prepared, fun, smooth. measured, and with voices tailor made for radio. Everything I and my last venture into podcasting were not. 

But they were great to work with. They riff off each other with the easy of old friends and do the same with their guests. I was just hoping not to sound like a total mess. 

If you take the time to follow this link and listen to the podcast I promise it does not disappoint, at least until I take the mic at the very end. The other guests are literally a Who’s Who of the Central/Eastern PA beer scene and it’s crazy that I got to step in. I’m very thankful.

Steph, Wayne and Dan are doing great things in promoting craft beer.  Take the time to check out their work as they promote great brews and the good news of craft beer.  Subscribe to the podcast and check out BeerBustersPodcast.com.

Cheers!

Columbia Kettle Works One Year Anniversary

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Columbia-Kettle-Featured

I have been a big fan of Columbia Kettle Works (CKW) since they opened in May of 2014.  They started out right with a great location in a town that was looking to welcome a new brewery.  They opened slow, working their “regular jobs” full time while also doing their dream; that is probably still true.

They were brewing beers that they like.  I and a bunch other people, if you look around the place, appear to like them too.  The beers started out good and have consistently improved along the way.  I have been to CKW about a dozen times over the past year to either get a couple pints or to fill a growler or two.  Each time the beer is just a little bit better. They give a damn about the beer.  The beer is the product.  That is evident by the quality and the set up of the brewery/bar. 

So I am really happy to see they are celebrating their one year anniversary this Saturday while taking a step towards the future.

CKW recently hired Chad Rieker away from Iron Hill Brewery Lancaster. Rieker is a 6th generation brewer from Columbia.  His brewing genealogy stretches back to the Rieker Star Brewery of Lancaster.  This pedigree is just freaking cool and he is returning directly to his roots by brewing in Columbia.

This hire in my mind is a big commitment to the business and a sign of more great beers to come.  Brewing is naturally a collaborative process and adding Rieker to Rod Smith’s brewing acumen appears to be a brilliant move.  Also, I secretly hope he brings his St. James Brown ale along with him to CKW as I really liked that beer at Iron Hill.

If you attend the anniversary party at CKW on Saturday expect some live music and more importantly some great beer.  First they will be tapping Rieker’s first beer at CKW, “Convocation” a Belgian Dubbel.  They will also be breaking out a Ginger Saison, a very small batch of Belgian Peach Blond that sounds amazing, a new batch of their collaboration ale, Kettleface (brewed with St. Boniface) and most excitedly a Belgian Dark Strong Ale that has matured for four months in a bourbon barrel behind the bar.  Seriously I have been watching that barrel each time I go… I think it is going to be great.

Cheers to Columbia Kettle Works on their first year and may they have many, many more.

Another Reason to Celebrate Craft Beer? Good!

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bdg_ACBW2015_lg

With barely any rest from the grand success of the inaugural Harrisburg Beer Week we now find ourselves in the middle of American Craft Beer Week; a national celebration of the beverage we love.

American Craft Beer Week (ACBW) was started by the Brewers Association to celebrate and promote the craft beer industry in America. I have highlighted a few local breweries since the recent inception of this blog but thought this week would be a fitting opportunity to give some quick recommendations if you plan to venture out and celebrate ACBW around the Lancaster, Harrisburg and York area.

First up is the brewery closest to me, Columbia Kettle Works. They are on the verge of celebrating their one-year anniversary this Saturday May 16th and have been doing amazing work over the course of the past year. If you go, I recommend the Amber IPA. On Saturday for the big celebration, they will be having a number of exclusive and limited supply beers on tap including a barrel-aged beer that I have been watching slowly mature behind their bar for a couple months. Should be a great weekend. I will be dropping by so expect a full report next week.

In Harrisburg, swing by ZerØday Brewing Company and sample their Dolce Vita. I have raved about this beer previously and if you have yet to enjoy this sweet stout you are really missing out. Also ZerØday IPA Ep. 2 is on tap. I have yet to try this one but plan to do so this week.

In York, take the time to enjoy a fantastic Coconut Porter by Crystal Ball Brewing Company. I recently got to meet two of the brewers and you will not find a more welcoming and enthusiastic couple of guys. They are passionate about their product and took the time to discuss why they care about beer and what all they put into their product… also the Coconut Porter is really, really good.

If you are in Ephrata you should check out St. Boniface Brewing and get a taste of Offering #22 Berliner Weisse. It is a devastatingly crisp and refreshing beer and should go well with the warm sunny weather we have recently been enjoying. While you are there be sure to pick up a Crowler of their Paideia Pale Ale. I freaking love Crowlers and I really loved Paideia.

Speaking of crisp refreshing beers… Moo-Duck’s Honey! Basil Blonde is just the perfect blend of flavors for this spring weather. If you are not familiar with Moo-Duck Brewing, they recently hosted the Beer Busters Podcast and owners Mike and Kristen Brubaker were part of a great episode. Give it a listen and definitely check take the time to check out their beers.

Finally, if you are in Lancaster proper you should visit the Tap Room and sample Lexicon Devil a grapefruit IPA that is somehow as good as the name. I loved it. Also when you are visiting Spring House be sure to remember that they serve half pints. The perfect size of beer for the drinker that wants more than the little flights but wants to have a few different brews.

Cheers.

Dr. StrangeBrew or How I Learned to Quit Worrying and Love Funky Beer

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Dr. Stranglove

I have always been a Stout drinker.  I like my beers to be thick and hardy; to stick with you.  The deeper and the darker the better.  I love a nice hoppy beer but the malts always seemed to carry more depth of flavor.  The roundness of a proper malt character just works with my taste.

When I go into a bar with a decent tap list I would immediately scan the list for Stouts and Imperial Stouts but as of late I find myself looking for Saison and Farmhouse Ales.  I am drawn to the funkiness.  To the layer after layer of various favors.  To the subtle turns between sips.  They are weird and twisted and kind of strange.  I get the impression that these beers don’t always do what they are supposed to do.  The yeast operating like Peter Seller’s Dr. Strangelove.  They are fascinating to me right now.  Luckily there are a number of breweries that are providing excellent examples of the style right now that you can try in and around Central PA.

First up is ZerØday Brewing’s Saison 28.  I have mentioned this beer at least a couple times on the blog and frankly it deserves all the praise.  The beer was poured into a snifter and presented with a dried grass colored haziness. The aroma is slightly yeasty with a hint of lemongrass. It’s hoppy upfront with a proper floral bitterness that is welcoming.  The carbonation was as fine as to draw comparison to Champagne. The slight Farmhouse funk and earthy tones in the finish grow more pronounced as the beer warmed and disappeared from the short stubby glass.  This Saison is big and weighted in at 9.9% ABV but it drinks like some sub-4.0 near beers; careful with this one. This beer is as effervescent and deep as the girl that brewed it.  This beer is fantastic.  I loved it.

Shut Up, Meg by Evil Genius is the most approachable of the Farmhouse Ales I’ve had as of late.  It was mildly sour with a bright nose that lacked the deep earthy funkiness that can be off putting to some drinkers.  A cloudy straw colored ale that was forward tasting of citrus hops and a light spice finish this beer is easy drinking and is not loaded with booze at only 6%.  This is perfect for introducing someone to Saisons/Farmhouse ales.  It’s very well done and plays well with the subtle end of the Farmhouse ale spectrum.

Moo-Duck Brewery’s Just for Fun Ginger Saison was a special brew made just for Harrisburg Beer Week.  It is still around and available currently at the Elizabethtown brewery.  The aroma is citrusy with a strong but pleasant ginger spiciness in the nose.  Smooth drinking with slight farmhouse funk in the front and a long crisp and slightly sweet finish that brings the ginger flavor full circle. The funky flavors here are a little muted and make for a very easy drinking beer clocking in at 6% ABV.  The ginger puts a nice twist on the style and worked well.

Last was my favorite of the four, Dean Rustic Farmhouse Saison by Spring House Brewing Company.  I had this on draft at the Sturges Speakeasy and it was a great beer. In the nose I picked up cloves and a little spiciness from the yeast along with pears.  The taste opens up with a farmhouse funk and again some pears and apple; making it crisp in flavor.  The beer was not overly carbonated and provided for a nice dry mouthfeel.  As the beer warmed the big 9% ABV became evident but was not off putting.  The medium bodied beer is deep amber in color.  The finish is funky as hell with focus on earth tones and a long slightly sour dry finish that I loved.  This is a big beer that drinks lighter than it should; though not quite to the degree of Saison 28 above which masks the alcohol with what I assume is magic.

All four beers are very good and recommended.  Dean Rustic Saison and Saison 28 get the Bearcat Seal of Approval.

Toasting Harrisburg Beer Week’s Grand Success

~ Bearcat ~ 1 Comment

HBW

Harrisburg Beer Week was by all accounts from everyone I have talked to an unqualified success.

Tierney, Sara, Chelsie and Colleen worked hard and delivered a series of events that were one right after another impressive examples of both their hard work and the state of the craft beer business here in Central PA. I am greatly appreciative of this.

There were too many great events for anyone to attend them all. My personal highlights were the kick off event at ABC and the sublime (717) Collaboration Ale release, Victory Brewing firkins showing up outside their natural habitat, Moo-Duck Brewery tapping their Just for Fun ginger infused Saison, ZerØday debuting the fantastically funky and dry Sasion 28, The Little Big Beer Fest, and the Evolution Brewing party at Sturges Speakeasy.

I got to jump on with the Beer Busters Podcast; that was surreal and fun. I got to see my “beer friends” and to raise a glass with them. It goes without saying that I had the chance to try some fantastic beers. Everything about the week was a celebration in the truest sense.

It’s easy for people to be dismissive of this area and to say “Nothing happens around here.” That is bullshit. There are plenty of great things happening around here. Harrisburg Beer Week was only one example of all the great things happening here. It was a celebration of the great work people in this area doing in just one industry.  It was impressive even to someone who watches closely all that is going on in and around craft beer.

I hope that is one of the lasting effects from this past week. That people were exposed to a new brewery that they had yet to visit or experience. The great lasting effect would be for breweries like The Brewery at Hershey, St. Boniface, Crystal Ball, and Free Will to have earned new loyal customers.

The good news is Harrisburg Beer Week will be back next year around the same time. So the good news is, although it is over we get to do it all again next year.

Cheers!

Friday Beer News Link Dump

~ Bearcat ~ 1 Comment

Harrisburg Beer Week is winding down.  Tonight, May 1st, is the special PA Women in Craft Beer Conference.  This is a ticketed event and features a panel of four women who work in craft beer within Pennsylvania.  Should be a great event.

Also, Grain + Verse is hosting a beer ice cream, yes beer ice cream, event with Troegs and Urban Churn this evening.

You can also grab a chance to see Beer Wars at the Midtown Cinema.  If you have not seen it yet, this documentary is a must see for any craft beer lover.  Show starts at 7:00 pm.  If you go I suggest watching while sipping a Saison 28 from ZerØday. Both the movie and this find hoppy Saison get the Bearcat Seal of Approval.

Tomorrow, May 2nd, features the one event I have been most looking forward to… The Little Big Beer Fest at ABC’s Abbey Bar.  This a ticketed event (sold out) featuring small batch but high ABV beers from local breweries.  My level of excitement for this could not be higher.

If I don’t imbibe too much at the Fest tomorrow you can expect to see me at the Sturges Speakeasy for the Evolution Brewing Grand Finale starting at 6pm.  Hope to see you there.

Expect a full post on Sunday Monday detailing my thoughts on the Fest, the inaugural Harrisburg Beer Week and its future.

In other beer news – Thrillist, while typically not my first turn for beer news and commentary, did have an interesting take on the “Craft Beer Bubble” the coming bloodletting everyone who watches this industry can see on the horizon. It’s a good read.

Another interesting story on the future of craft beer and Jason Notte’s idea of what the industry will look like in the year 2020.

What does it mean to be “craft beer?”  Turns out the term might be completely meaningless.

Every summer I enjoy a week in Hilton Head South Carolina and one of the great breweries I seek out for sipping while on vacation is SweetWater.  Well the Atlanta based brewer is entering the Pittsburgh market effective June 1st.  I recommend their 420 Extra Pale Ale, the Georgia Brown, and Whiplash White IPA.

Also be sure to swing by Moo-Duck Brewery in Elizabethtown PA tonight as celebrate their six month anniversary and host a live recording of the Beer Busters Podcast on tap is the tasty Just for Fun Ginger Saison.  The Saison gets the Bearcat Seal of Approval.

The Highs and Lows of Cellaring Beer

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SlyFox Raspberry Reserve  Speedway Stout 2011

Shortly after I bought my first home eight years ago I started cellaring beer.  I had heard of the practice and it seemed like the perfect way to expand my interests in rare and unusual beers by making some of the best beers of today potentially even better.

First off… I am no expert on aging beers.  That being said there are a few rules I work around and they have worked for me.

  • The storage space should be cool. My basement is quite cool year round and never gets above 60 degrees.
  • It should be dark. Beer is as photosensitive as an albino in the tropics. I use wine boxes and some old blankets.
  • Choose boozy beers. 8% ABV and above.
  • Hops are fragile and their floral, dank, piney, resin, citrus and/or tropical flavors degrade quickly. This will make you sad.  Pick something else.
  • I like to generally work with dark beers… Imperial stouts, barley-wines, Belgian strong ales, sour beers, Flanders reds work but so can Triples and Quads.
  • Bottle conditioned beers and those injected with wild yeast or Brettanomyces tend to offer good results.
  • Try to run a vertical. Age a couple bottles from each year and then try them together to get an idea of how the beer is developing during its long slumber.  This is great for learning about when a beer reaches “maturity” and when its over the hill.
  • Experiment… some will work and some will not. Failure is an option. Some will be sublime and some will be ready to hit the drain.  It’s a crapshoot; get over it.

I ran into that the dichotomy of that last bullet point this past week.  First, I opened a bottle of SlyFox’s Black Raspberry Reserve from 2010.  This bottle conditioned fruit beer weighs in at 8% ABV, is loaded with raspberries and is brewed in Phoenixville, PA.  I first had this beer fresh and I found it overly sweet and lacking sufficient complexity in flavor.  It was a little on the thin side but its effervescence made for nice mouthfeel.  It poured a deep rich purple with a slightly pink head. Flavors were only slightly tart and that was drowning in sweet sugars and candied raspberry.  I thought the beer promising if only the tartness could be amplified, the sweetness muted and some of the other potential fruity flavors given a chance to come forward. So in the cellar it went for nearly five full years.

Upon opening the cork and caged 750 mL bottle and pouring it in to a snifter I could tell the long rest had made significant changes.  This beer previously had a luminance about it.  The color had clearly moved towards a darker more brownish hue; not immediately off putting but certainly different.  The bubbly effervescent liquid was now flat and thin.  The aroma once of raspberry jam was now only a whiff of its former self.  It was bland at the front with no discernable finish. The beer lacked any real flavor. The beer was boring.  Age had not been kind this beer.  What was once a modestly good beer, with what I had hoped to be great potential, was lost for good.

The second bottle I opened was a 2011 Speedway Stout by AleSmith out of San Diego California. AleSmith makes a number of very, very well regarded brews and is a company that I trust completely with my hard earned beer money.  When fresh this imperial stout pours a pitch-black with chocolate and coffee aroma’s dominating the nose.  The taste of coffee and chocolate are dominate but do not hide the subtle toffee, caramel, vanilla and dark sweet fruits notes.  These all come through thanks to the fine and abundant carbonation. This beer is silky smooth and very easy to drink even at 12% ABV.

My 2011 bottle after four years of hibernation showed significant and welcome change.  The beer pours slightly flatter with the previously firm dark brown head disappearing quickly and only providing minimal lacing at the edge.  The creamy mouth feel was replaced with the smooth silk like texture of a fine cordial.  With the coffee notes completely out of the way after its four year slumber the beer now focused on the roasted malts.  Toffee, caramel, and vanilla are all here in abundance but never over powering.  The 12% alcohol is more evident but never lends itself to a burn or unpleasant astringency and merely invites more rationed sipping; a wise credit to my patience.  The finish is as long as ever but instead of coffee now evokes the flavors of softly roasted malts and a hint of plums.  The beer was and remains complex and is never boring.  I am glad to have two more bottle to see what another five to ten years does.

Speedway Stout and cellaring your beers both get the Bearcat Seal of Approval.

A Beer as Prologue For My Love of Craft Beer

~ Bearcat ~ 2 Comments

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About dozen years ago, when I first moved to Harrisburg from Pittsburgh I lived in downtown on North 2nd Street. I visited the bar scene along my street three to four nights a week. I worked at a beer distributor as a second job a couple weeknights and on weekends. Back then I considered myself above the average beer drinker because I preferred Guinness and spoke well of Yuengling Porter. Drinking dark beer alone a differentiator and sign of my good taste.

Then one cold afternoon more than a decade ago I wandered into Troegs Brewing Company’s tasting room; the one that used to be in Harrisburg. I had a Hopback, a Pale Ale or maybe even a Troeganator… it blew my mind. Here was beer of a completely different nature. It was flavorful in a way I did not know it could be. It was a revelation in every sense of the word.

Shortly there after, seeking out other beers of high regard I stepped into Appalachian Brewing Company (ABC) on Cameron Street. Their beers were sweeter and more approachable but no less interesting to my plebe beer tasting palate. Here again was beer brewed with care and respect. ABC’s then brewer, now owner/brewmaster of Roundabout Brewing in Pittsburgh, was my neighbor. This along with drinking regularly at Troegs helped expand my interest in craft beers.

Years later after I had given up on corporate beer and became fully committed to craft brews, a couple friends and I discovered Al’s of Hampden. This was back when he had six tables and maybe twenty or so taps. Here my world opened to styles of beer that I couldn’t have found elsewhere… Saisons, Black IPAs (remember when they were the new hotness), West Coast and triple IPAs and “What the hell is Brettanomyces?”

So last night at the Harrisburg Beer Week kickoff party, I had a beer that in many ways celebrated not just the region but my own journey to craft beer. (717) Collaboration Ale by ABC, Pizza Boy Brewing (Al’s of Hampden), and Troegs Brewing Company is my history with beer in a can. While Sara Bozich and the ladies at Stouts and Stilettos kicked off what took a ton of work to birth, I was thinking about my decade long journey with beer and the Harrisburg area; the two are woven together.

(717) Collaboration Ale is a strange beer that is brewed for a wonderfully strange area code. The area code where it gets its name holds a company town where government is the company. It is also home to some of the most fertile farmland in the country. The area has city life and Amish carriages all at once. Just as the area code is a hybrid, so is this beer. It has the character of noble hops like an IPA with the range of flavors of a Farmhouse Ale/Saison. This beer is hoppy in the front with a pronounced sweetness while providing the long dry finish and Chardonnay tang of a farmhouse brew.

Hybrid beers by their very nature are complex but this one is just uncanny in its depth. It starts with a billowy and long lasting head from a vigorous pour that provides a welcome yeast and peppery aroma along with some sweet and sour flavors in the nose. The slightly amber and completely clear and clean appearance are inviting and representative of the exacting standards these brewers demand.

The flavor profile provides for a bit of the honey sweetness up front as is typical for ABC beers in my opinion. The middle is all hops with a generous Nugget hop profile that is all Troegs. The finish is long and dry with a proper white wine and slightly sour notes clearly attributed to Pizza Boy Brewing’s history of sublime sours. The ability to definitively pick out the distinct characteristics of the three brew houses is truly unique for this collaboration. This beer is incredibly impressive on multiple levels.

The 7.17% ABV ale is easy drinking and sits comfortably in either a standard pint glass to be casually imbibed or savored in a snifter quietly with reflection. 

It is available on draft during Harrisburg Beer Week at Al’s of Hampden, ABC, and Troegs and will be released in 16 oz cans on Monday, April 27th at distributors in the area. If you get the chance, I highly recommend picking some up.

(717) Collaboration Ale gets the Bearcat Seal of Approval.