Brewer Blog @ Grittys.com
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August 11, 2009
Once again summer has meant that it’s so busy in the brewery there’s not enough time for blogging. In Auburn they’re brewing more than ever, in Freeport the brewers are already making lots of Halloween Ale, and here in Portland we’re as busy as ever, too (and we’ll be doing Halloween soon as well, so don’t worry).
Despite the hectic pace, we did have time a couple of weeks ago to fit in a special brew we’re calling Panhandle Pale. It’s a hoppy American pale ale single-hopped with Amarillo (named after the city in the Texas panhandle), an American hop with a strongly grapefruity taste and aroma. Its light golden color looks summery and the hops are refreshing, but the Panhandle also packs a bit of a punch, at 6.2% alcohol by volume.
That’s about it for now – keep an eye out for Halloween Ale around September 1st, and hopefully for a special treat or two before then as well.
May 16, 2009
Despite being busy stocking up for Memorial Day weekend, in the Portland brewpub we’ve found time for another single batch beer. If you’ve been sampling any of our cask beers over the last few weeks you may have tasted some Centennial hops. We don’t usually use Centennial, but we put them in the Strive Rascal Red Ale a couple of months ago and had some left, so we’ve been gradually using them up by dry-hopping Pub Style and IPA casks with them (dry-hopping is adding hops directly to the serving vessel, which gives lots of hop aroma).
Well, we’ve been liking those casks so much that we decided to do a single-hopped beer using only Centennial. It’s basically an American-style pale ale, fittingly called Centennial Pale Ale (or CPA for short). We did 4 additions of Centennial during the boil, and dry-hopped with Centennial in the conditioning tank, using a total of 7 pounds, so while it’s a hoppy beer, it’s not over the top. The malt bill is quite simple, with mostly pale ale malt and a little bit of Munich and caramalt- the idea was to showcase the hops and have just enough malt to balance them. The CPA came out at about 5.8% ABV, so it’s stronger than most of our beers (in keeping with the American style), but still drinkable.
What to expect from all those Centennial hops? They’re American hops, like the Cascade we use in the IPA and Vacationland Summer Ale, so the notable feature is a strongly citrusy flavor and aroma. Centennial is famous for its grapefruit and orange character, and you should taste plenty of that in the CPA.
By the way, although the name of the beer refers to the hops, if you’re looking for a centennial of something to celebrate while drinking the CPA, in May 1909 Walter Reed Medical Center was opened, the Preakness Stakes moved to Pimlico, the town of Concrete, WA, was incorporated, the first Giro d’Italia bicycle race was run, a meteor crashed through the roof of a house in Texas, and the 1912 Olympics were awarded to Stockholm. 1909 is also the centennial of the Chicago Cubs not winning the World Series.
The CPA went on tap this weekend and with a little luck should last through Memorial Day. So, what’s next in Portland? Shortly after Memorial Day we’ll have the Old Port Fest (June 7), one of the busiest days of the year, so we won’t have time for anything new before then. But later in June, look for the return of an old favorite…
Cheers, Ben