Hello again! Welcome back! We're here with enough good times to go around, and it's all startin' off with something that's a pretty big deal to us: wet hop beer!
Every brewer's wet dream this time of year
We've never made a wet hop before* and it's something we were hesitant to announce because the scheduling can get tricky (wet hops have a shelf life that's measured in hours instead of months, so if brewday doesn't fall on a harvest day we're pretty much boned), but we done did it this year! To celebrate this most auspicious of occasions, we trotted out a recipe/concept we've been lookin' to brew for a while - a version of Extra Naked made with all local ingredients (which we obviously named So Nude)! In addition to the freshest possible Pepite** hops from Four Star Farms, we got all the fermentables just a hop skip and a jump away at Valley Malt! We are, to say the least, quite stoked as evidenced by this "photo essay" that we "cobbled together" from a bunch of "hastily snapped cell phone pictures" - enjoy!
But that ain't gon' be ready for a few weeks yet, so what about the now? Well dang it if we ain't keepin' ourselves busy these days - we've got a new beer hittin' the taps on Thursday (the first beer from our new tanks, no less), and it's an interesting lil' sucker named Test Drive. This amber ale's light in color, yet full in body and surprisingly roasty. To be honest, it's proven a little polarizing with our taste testers, but that just means you gon' have to decide for your dang self (and if you've got a need for some noshin' to go with it, we're back to our regularly scheduled pizza programming).
A perfect sipper for when you go all out on this month's coloring contest
But getting back to Extra Naked for a bit, it just so happens that we've got Extra Naked on cask this weekend! The first of the casks - tapped on Thursday, as always - has been dry hopped with Grungeist and Cashmere! And as an added bonus, we've got a cask of the same damn beer - dry hopped with Michigan-grown Glacier - on tap at Maverick Cafe at the same damn time!
Nekkid!
Moving on a bit - remember that time we had Buenas Empanadas in here and y'all got to eat short rib/mac 'n' cheese empanadas? Well on Friday they're back for Round Two and they're just ready as heck to dazzle us with their delectable delights!
Pockets of happiness served by even happier people
And on Saturday we're venturin' farther from home than we usually do in order to Get Real out in Worcester at the Mass Fermentational! We're pouring with hell of great breweries (including New York's own Big aLICe brewing, who we brought along for the ride) and it's pretty much a sure thing that a good time will be had by all.
Tickets are still available, be sure to grab 'em!
Back at home base, we've got another cask of Extra Naked, though this time it's hopped with Michigan Cascade and Michigan Chinook! And if that ain't enough to tantalize your tastebuds, Everett's own Clive's Jams is bringin' the heat with hot pepper jam flights! We've got heat levels rangin' from 1 to 5: Jalapeno, Habanero, Ghost, Scorpion, and Ruxin Reaper! Take that!
Protip: spicy jam is incredible with baked brie***
* Fun fact: Bullhead was supposed to be a wet hop, but they had to delay harvesting due to rain and we couldn't delay brewing so we just brewed it anyway. It ended up working out in the end (as it ended up being one of our favorite beers).
** They come from Nugget rootstock, but they ain't like any Nugget you've ever had.
***aaaand mic drop
** They come from Nugget rootstock, but they ain't like any Nugget you've ever had.
***aaaand mic drop
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