Earlier this week, I shared news about the kick-ass collaboration between the Harrisburg area brewing rockstars, Appalachian Brewing Co., Troegs Brewing Co. and Pizza Boy Brewing Co., the (717) Collaboration Ale.
This beer is a blend of style varieties, local goodness and tons of creativity. It is the official beer of Harrisburg Beer Week and will be released during the kick-off event on April 24 at The Abbey Bar at Appalachian Brewing Co. (7 p.m.; $5 cover goes to Harrisburg River Rescue.)
Look for it in 16 oz pounder cans on April 27 throughout the 717 area code.
Some fun stories from the brew day on Monday at Troegs:
Brewing Traditions
John Trogner believes in a lucky donut toast. John said for their first collaboration brew for Philly Beer Week many years ago, he brought in some donuts to share with everyone and has since kept up the tradition. We toasted some glazed Dunkin Donuts during the (717) Collab brew day.
When I brewed the Bozich Black IPA with Artie at ABC Camp Hill, he shared his own tradition for first time brewers, a “Hot Scottie.” Basically once the wort moves to the fermentor, you pour a sample of the still hot liquid and add some single malt scotch for the first taste of your creation. Artie calls it a right of passage for your first brew.
“Sorry there’s no grain to shovel”
Brewing at Troegs was quite different from my other experiences, which ranged from a homebrew system to the 10 barrel system at the Brewery at Hershey. For instance, rather than standing over a large vat of hot water and grain with a giant paddle, this is mashing in at Troegs. John let me press the button.
It’s an impressive set-up, everything fully automated and highly organized in gorgeous, gigantic stainless steel.
Not too much later, we all participated in dumping in some pre-measured hops into the hop dosers. And even later in the afternoon, it was time to add in the local honey.
What is it?
Gosh guys, even they don’t know. Terry said it was a saison, then John and I said IPA. But then we saw the color imparted from the Deer Creek (local) malts and hello, boys, this baby is AMBER.
Artie joked that, like The Alchemist, we should encourage you to drink straight from the can, instead of pouring it. He also noted later that the 360 lb of honey were pretty dark, too. Suppose, when in doubt, “American Strong Ale” fits (though the 7.17% ABV of this is on the low end of that description).
The can will tell you it’s a “slightly tart IPA made with saison yeast and local honey.”
But any way you slice it, this brew is unique — much like its creators, and I have no doubt it will be delicious — expect a light tartness, piney hop flavor and a touch of sweetness with a dry, clean finish — and I can’t wait to try it.
Look for more
In-between assignments, Troegs’ Jeff Herb shot some video of the three brewers (and a snippet from me about Harrisburg Beer Week), so look for a video forthcoming from Troegs where you can hear about this collaboration in their own words.
We’re also planning to reconvene for the canning, so stay tuned to Twitter and Instagram (@troegsbeer, @sarabozich) for updates as we near the release of this one-of-a-kind beer!
