Sneak Peek #4 - Beers Made By Walking (Monument/Colorado Springs)
Our final sneak peek at tomorrow's Beers Made By Walking is here. We'll give you one last look at some of the beers that will be available tomorrow, and tomorrow only. I hope to see you all there! Pikes Peak Brewing in Monument at 3pm.
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| 3 leaf sumac with berries |
What kind of beer are you making and what are some of the ingredients that you are using?
I'm making a Saison with rose hips and sumac. Saison is a Belgian ale that often use local, seasonal ingredients. The rose hips and sumac are added near the end of the boil to add their flavor and aroma to the beer. Rose hips add a fruity flavor, somewhat like a cranberry. Sumac have tart, lemony flavor.
On the hike, what ingredients stood out and how did you make your decisions?
First of all, there were an amazing number of possible ingredients. One that was interesting, and that I had never heard of before, was Pin Cherries. They're a small cherry with a tart, apple like, flavor. I would have liked to use them but I didn't think I would have been able get enough for my batch. Since it's common with Saisons to use local, seasonal ingredients. I thought it made it a good choice to show off flavors from the hike. Rose hips and sumac are two ingredients with fairly delicate flavors that should complement the Saison's own fruity and spicy character.
I thought a lot of the ingredients would work well in a Brown Ale. The Brown Ale has enough flavor to stand up to some of the stronger additional flavors. However, I really enjoy Saisons and I thought this was a great opportunity to use local flavors in one.
What can we expect with your beer?
None of the flavors should overpower the other flavors. What I'm hoping for is a delicate balance of all the flavors. It should be a refreshing, drinkable beer.
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| A picture of Josh with his brewing equipment. Pretty nice beard, eh? |
What kind of beer are you making and what are some of the ingredients that you are using?
I made a Maple Rye Pale Ale with maple syrup, bramling cross hops, and simcoe hops. I've never made a Rye beer and the thought of spicy rye malt and sweet maple syrup sounded pretty good. I've wanted to make a Rye beer and I thought this would be a good opportunity to try it since wild rye was found on the hike. I've only used maple syrup a couple of times, in Belgian and smoke beers, and I enjoy the sweetness it adds. I used around 6 pounds of rye malt and I added about 16 ounces of maple syrup in the secondary.
I am trying to keep things simple with this beer. Yes I might get some flack for making an easy beer but I wanted to focus on flavors from different malts and hops while only using one or two different ingredients. My goal was to make a beer that you can pick out all of the ingredients without having any particular component overwhelming the others.
What can we expect with your beer?
I'm hoping that the spiciness from the rye blends well with the sweet flavor of the maple syrup. The citrus flavor from the simcoe hops and the currant berry flavor from the bramling cross hops should be a nice combination without overpowering the overall taste. The rye malt will also help in making the beer a little more rich and malty.
Beers Made By Walking (Monument/Colorado Springs)
Sept 22nd / 3-6pm / $10
At Pikes Peak Brewing / 1756 Lake Woodmoor Dr, Monument
Facebook Event Page
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