A new beer will debut in our public house on Friday, July 6that 5 p.m. It’s the first of many in a series which will give everyone on our brewery team, a chance to brew beers start to finish. Midnight Ryeder is a black rye pale ale. Here the brewer describes this beer and the Sweet Virginia Series.
By Michal Frankowicz/Fort George Brewer
The beer is technically a black ale, but I think of it as a not-so pale ale. It should have the bitterness and hop character of an IPA, but I am going to try to keep it around 4.6%. The reason I am making it is because every time I have had a black IPA, it seemed closer to a hoppy stout. I am trying to show the fact that a black beer does not have to taste anything like the way it looks. The hops that I am using in this beer are, Zythos, Amarillo, and Centennial. All of these hops provide a very citrussy note, which should make it nice, and crisp for a good summer pint.
I believe the most challenging aspect of these one-off beers (made once) is to decide what type of beer to create. There are just so many different types that taste great in their own way. The reason I went with the Midnight Ryeder first, is that I am mostly a seasonal drinker, and having a light, refreshing, and hoppy beer for summer just suits my taste buds. I enjoy being able to have a couple of pints without worrying about being intoxicated.
I think it is fantastic that all of the brewers will be able to create these unique recipes. Brewing beer is amazing in itself, but being able to design a beer that we will create makes the job that much more enjoyable. All of the brewers at Fort George have always been able to put their two cents into the recipes that have come out over the last couple of years, but now we get this opportunity to be the sole person responsible for the beer being produced. It is terrifying and exciting at the same time. Luckily there is so much knowledge about brewing within the staff, that we are able to bounce ideas off of each other and can catch the little mistakes in the ingredients before the beer is made. This will allow every beer to come out of this series to be great.
The Sweet Virginia Series will be very helpful for all the brewers to advance in their field. I think it will benefit the brewers on the production side slightly more. Piper has been making all of the one-off beers on Sweet Virginia, our smaller 8.5 barrel system, for quite some time now. She is able to see the impact of the ingredients firsthand. The production brewers have this same opportunity, but with only five varieties. Every new beer that has come over to our production brewery, Little Miss Texas, is like a treat to us. It is almost a scramble to be the first to brew that new beer. Being able to identify certain flavors helps us hone-in the process to make every beer as perfect as possible.
