We’re excited to announce our newest barrel-aged beer release in partnership with Spirit Hound Distillers:
Scottish Style Ale
On March 8th, we’ll be releasing a small batch Scottish Style Ale aged in the barrels that held Spirit Hound’s first batches of “flood-proof” Colorado whisky. The first kegs of this limited-release beer will be tapped at 5:00 p.m. at both of our tap rooms. The collaboration started long before the Scottish Style Ale began aging and is a testament to the brotherly-like community of the Colorado craft beer and liquor scene.
This past August, Spirit Hound Distillers released, and quickly sold out of, the first bottles of its long-awaited Straight Malt Whisky. Those bottles came from five 53-gallon oak barrels that were filled prior to the historic September 2013 floods that did severe damage to Lyons, Boulder County and other parts of Colorado.
The distiller’s wash that filled those barrels was brewed in August of 2013 by head Spirit Hound distiller Craig Englehorn at our Lee Hill brewery. We were able to offer our equipment while Spirit Hound was awaiting the arrival of their own brewhouse.
“I’ve known Upslope founder Matt Cutter for years,” recalls Wayne Anderson, the distillery’s Head of Sales. “So I asked him if we could brew on the Upslope system while we waited on our own. He and his team were eager to help and they let us come in on a series of Saturdays to brew. It was extremely gracious of them.”
Englehorn brewed five batches of distillers wash at Upslope. He trucked the wash to Spirit Hound where it was fermented, distilled and then placed in oak barrels for aging to become the company’s first Straight Malt Whisky. Two weeks later on September 12, 2013, the historic flood hit Lyons and shut down the distillery for six months.
In 2015, we filled those now-empty barrels with a special limited-run Upslope beer. “It’s a Scottish-style ale of around 8% ABV,” Englehorn says, “Made with a little peated malt. It’s a lot like our wash and it was aged in barrels #5 and #6.”
Upslope brewer Charlie Condon collaborated with Engelhorn and fellow distiller Steve Williams on the beer recipe.
“When presented with the opportunity to decide what to put in the barrels we had been given from Spirit Hound, I thought it was only right to design the beer after the original whiskey wash”, states Charlie, Lead Brewer at Upslope’s Lee Hill Tap Room. “I worked with the Spirit Hound team to craft a beer that is both deep and complicated and highlights some of the unique flavors of the whiskey.”
“We brewed the beer on the same system that we used to brew our whisky,” Englehorn notes. “So we’re completing a nice little circle with this beer and it’s pretty special. We would not have had any flood-proof whisky without Upslope’s very generous help.”
We’re super excited about this partnership and we hope you are able to attend our special tapping and sip some while you can!
WHAT // First tapping of our Scottish Style Ale
WHERE // Upslope Brewing Company (BOTH Flatiron Park and Lee Hill tap rooms)
WHEN // Tuesday, March 8, 2016 at 5:00 pm
For more events, check out the full Scottish Style Ale tapping lineup below & find a place near you:
Wednesday, March 9, 2016 — Backcountry Pizza & Tap House (5:30 pm)
Thursday, March 10, 2016 — Lyons Fork (5:30 pm)
Friday, March 11, 2016 — Falling Rock Tap House (5:30 pm)
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