SAN FRANCISCO, CA . – Five never-before-tasted Bay Area Brewers Guild collaboration beers are being readied to debut on Friday, February 1, at the 11th SF Beer Week Opening Gala. This annual brewing tradition, initiated by the Guild to celebrate the cooperative and creative spirit of the craft beer community, will result in five packaged beers for the first time in 2019, with four cans and one bottled beer available during the week of beer festivities. In addition, all five brews will be served on draft at the Opening Gala.
Breweries from five corners of the greater Bay Region banded together to share ideas, expertise and brewery time in order to bring these creative beers to life. Styles and ingredients differed dramatically, but each collab brew had one local artisan touch in common: All recipes included fresh California-grown malts donated by Admiral Maltings, the state’s only maltery and one of the nation’s few traditional floor-malting facilities. After the Opening Gala, all five brews will be poured at The Rake, the pub at Admiral Maltings in Alameda, CA, as long as supplies last, as well as various other locations throughout the Bay. Visit SF Beer Week as we get closer to Feb. 1 for updates on where you can try these beers.
Fruit of the Dragon is a Pale Ale.
Brewed by 21st Amendment Brewery in San Leandro, CA, Fruit of the Dragon represents the beer design thinking of the Bay Area Brewers Guild's East Bay brewers. Starting with Admiral Pilsner malt, incorporating honey and Dragon Fruit, this ale was bittered lightly with Warrior hops. It was then deftly dry hopped with Calypso, El Dorado and Lemon Drop hops.
5.9% ABV, 45 IBUs
North of the Wall is a White Brut IPA.
Produced at Bear Republic Brewing Co. in Cloverdale, CA, this collaboration pulled together the Bay Area Brewers Guild's North Bay brewers to create a mash-up IPA. North of the Wall unites the best components of the juicy and brut IPA flavors with a hint of Belgian Wit. Created with blended yeast strains and local Admiral malt, its Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, Hull Melon and Hallertau Blanc hops provide a big pop with full fruit flavors on a dry finish.
6.5%, 80 IBUs
Valley of the Dragons is a Kveik Double IPA.
This collaboration between the Bay Area Brewers Guild's Silicon Valley brewers was brewed by Strike Brewing Co. in its San Jose, CA, facility. Valley of the Dragons features Patwin Wheat, Admiral Malting's first ever wheat malt, and is fermented with a Kveik yeast strain isolated from a traditional Norwegian farmstead. Unique Kveik yeast esters, combined with a monstrous dry hop of Slovenian Dragon hops, create wonderful flavors of cantaloupe, passion fruit, and citrus.
8% ABV, 30 IBUs
Köl-I Sch-EE is an Kölsch.
At Half Moon Bay Brewing Co., on the coast in Half Moon Bay, CA, the Bay Area Brewers Guild's Coast brewers conspired to create a Kölsch Style ale brewed with Admiral Pilsner Malt, then colored outside the lines by finishing with Hallertau Blanc and Galaxy hops and a touch of aromatic lime leaves.
5.4% ABV, 30 IBUs
Farallon is a Tart IPA.
This brainchild of the Bay Area Brewers Guild members within the city limits of San Francisco was executed at the production facilities of Fort Point Beer Co. Farallon was designed to be lightly tart with a bone-dry finish and the green aromas of freshly cut pineapple fields. The beer is named for the remote barren islands that provide a bird sanctuary outside the Golden Gate, a real place dragons might enjoy.
6.6% ABV
These five audacious beers will catapult into the SF Beer Week Opening Gala on Feb. 1, accompanied by scores of new releases and additional un-official collaboration brews. That night, 125 independent craft breweries will present over 300 beers, including rare and one-off releases, showcasing both traditional and experimental beer making. Tickets for the SF Beer Week Opening Gala are available in advance only, at sfbeerweek.eventbrite.com
Next, after SF Beer Week kicks off at the Opening Gala, hundreds of creative beer events events around the region will follow daily, Feb. 2 through Sunday, Feb. 10. All events are listed at sfbeerweek.org
About the Federal Government shutdown and beer releases
“While it’s far from the most significant effect of the federal shutdown, when the government approval of beer labels is halted, California breweries are prevented from distributing new cans or bottles out of state. Likewise, the fate of new beers coming in from outside states is placed in limbo,” said Joanne Marino, Executive Director of the Bay Area Brewers Guild. “However, these five audacious local collaboration beers, as with most other California-only releases, are exempt from federal label requirements when purchased and poured in state, so all five will be on tap at the Opening Gala and available at various SF Beer Week events, shutdown or no shutdown.”
About the Bay Area Brewers Guild
The Bay Area Brewers Guild, formed in 2004 as the San Francisco Brewers Guild, is a non-profit trade association representing the region’s independent craft breweries. Our mission is to preserve the Greater Bay Area’s brewing heritage; advocate on behalf of members; partner with artisan producers in the food, beverage, hospitality and agricultural industries; educate the greater public; and unite those who make local beer with those who love it.
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