Sneak Peek #3 - Beers Made By Walking (Monument/COS)
Beers Made By Walking is this Saturday! If we haven't given you enough reason to head up to Pikes Peak Brewing for this unique event we thought we'd share a little bit about two more of the beers that have been made exclusively for Saturday! As a reminder, the event is Saturday from 3-6pm and for $10 you get unlimited samples of the eight beers! Here's an interview with Scott Werner and Mike Bordick, both these guys have created some pretty special brews:
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| Three Leaf Sumac |
Beer Name: Gose of Summer's Past
What kind of beer are you making and what are some of the ingredients that you are using?
German Gose, an older style that was briefly extinct but has seen a bit of a resurgence both in it original location (Goslar and Leipzeig, Germany) as well as with several US craft brewers including Portland's Cascade brewing (who do 4 different seasonal Gose brews) and a couple of local Colorado breweries (golden city and great divide).
My beer has a typical malt bill of wheat, pilsner, unmalted wheat and flaked oats along with typical ingredients of salt and coriander but also includes several nontraditional ingredients - white truffle salt, bee balm, and ground sumac.
On the hike, what were some of the ingredients that stood out to you and how did you make the decision to use these particular ingredients?
Quite a few, I was surprised to see wild rye and very curious about the possible use of wormwood. I'd used rose hips and juniper berries in saisons in the past but the ones that really stuck with me were the citrusy notes from sumac and bee balm. I was intrigued by the citrusy notes when I tried the sumac, it was easy to see why it had been historically used to make Indian pink lemonade. I'd initially thought of trying those two with an IPA trying to use them to reinforce citrusy hops but had some concerns that the herbs would get lost in a hop forward beer so opted to go for something a little more obscure that will hopefully allow the herbal citrus notes to shine more.
What can we expect with your beer?
Hopefully it will be a very sessionable, thirst quenching beer that is savory, salty and slightly tart.
Beer Name: Palmer Special Ale
What kind of beer are you making and what are some of the ingredients that you are using?
My beer is called Palmer Special Ale based on our hike around the Palmer Lake area. I made a Belgian Brown featuring rye malt, maple syrup and juniper berries. I also included some of my homegrown Brewer’s Gold hops for bittering, clover honey and flaked oats in the recipe. We saw clover, wild rye, wild oats, wild hops, maple trees and rocky mountain juniper on the hike.
How did you decide on this beer?
The hike was fantastic. We had a great guide and very interested hikers. We found over 40 possible ingredients we could use in our beer recipe. Initially, the nuts (pine, acorn), sunflower seeds and fruits (chokecherry, raspberry, strawberry, bear berry) seemed interesting before I wound up deciding on the ingredients I chose. With that many possible ingredients, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and confused, especially if you don’t know how much to use and what those ingredients will impart in your beer.
At first glance, the ingredients I chose may not seem to work well together. When I was putting together the recipe I thought that this could be good or it could be a train-wreck. I think it turned out good! I wanted to create a beer that fit the theme of Beers Made By Walking. I wanted something that would remind the drinker of the outdoors and the hike I experienced. So, for the beer I wanted some earthy, woody-like flavors capped off by the flavor and aroma of the juniper berries and supported by the specialty grains (rye and oat). A darker, maltier beer like a brown would support this concept.
What can we expect with your beer?
You can expect pleasant experience when drinking my Palmer Special Ale. The base beer is slightly on the malty side – some caramel, chocolate and bready/toasty flavors and aromas should be noted. It’s fairly dry for a “darker” beer. The Belgian yeast provides a bit of fruitiness and spiciness. The maple syrup imparts a woody, slightly sweet character. The rye malt gives a bready and spicy character, while the juniper provides a background of pine-like flavor and aroma. The clover honey helps dry out the beer a bit while adding some floral notes. The combination makes me think of the overall outdoor experience I had while hiking in the Palmer Lake area. I hope it does for you too!
Beers Made By Walking (Monument/Colorado Springs)
Sept 22nd / 3-6pm / $10
At Pikes Peak Brewing / 1756 Lake Woodmoor Dr, Monument
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