I don’t normally write about beers I have yet to sample, but surely this new project out of Nova Scotia deserves some attention. Combining the mini-trend of collaboration brewing – much seen south of the border and overseas, but rarely in Canada – and the bigger movement towards so-called “wet hop” beers – which is to say, beers hopped with unkilned hops – two NS craft breweries have some up with ALPHA%DOG Wet Hopped Collaboration Ale.
Here’s the skinny from the press release:
The project was born in 2009 when Propeller’s President John Allen and Sea Level’s Owner/Brewer Randy Lawrence joked around over a pint about creating a collaborative one-off beer. The two chuckled a bit over the idea but quickly shifted from a casual pint to the serious business of making this collaboration a reality. The
liquid result from their session is ALPHA%DOG Wet Hopped Collaboration Ale.
(…)
The copper coloured beer is brewed with 100% local Cascade and Willamette hops from Lazy Acres and Sea Level hop farms in the Annapolis Valley in Nova Scotia. These hops are harvested and shipped as “wet” un-dried hops to Propeller Brewery in Halifax where Sea Level brewer Randy Lawrence adds them to the brew kettle while their oils and resins are still at their peak.
Don’t ask me about the “%” in the name – I thought it was a computer emailing glitch until I saw it on the actual label. The release further states that the beer will be available “late this summer,” which so far as i can figure is right about now. Contact Propeller Brewing for details, I guess.
