A few weeks ago, we had the opportunity to brew with the good folks at Mystery Brewing Company in Hillsborough, where we brewed up a Triple Ginger Tripel that will be on tap when we open the doors. Yesterday, we continued with our collaboration series by heading out to Saxapahaw to what is (I believe) North Carolina's NEWEST craft brewery, Haw River Farmhouse Ales. The quaint little town of Saxapahaw has some fantastic attractions, including The Eddy Pub, the General Store, and now it's own 10-barrel brewery.
While the tap room isn't open for business yet, and their first beers are still fermenting away, we were able to sneak in for a few hours to brew a batch with Ben, Dawnya, and Nathan on their 2-barrel pilot system. Our beer was only the second batch brewed on this little beauty of a system. The first batch was an English/American Pale Ale which will become the house beer for The Eddy Pub, located directly above the brewery.
Together, we brewed a crisp, dry Saison that we're kicking up a notch by finishing it with an addition of Nelson Sauvin hops. These New Zealand hops are fruity, with hints of freshly crushed grapes or white wine.
To bring it all together, the beer is being fermented by a unique strain of wild yeast that the Haw River gang isolated and grew from the skin of a grape from Benjamin Vineyards, right down the road. You may have read about the first wild yeast strain that the guys at Haw River isolated, and is being used in their Alamance White beer. The yeast we used is their second unique strain, and has shown promising results in test batches thus far, kicking off some esters that should complement this dry Belgian beer and the Nelson Sauvin hops, and resulting in a crisp, dry, and slightly funky saison.
If you haven't been keeping track, this beer makes two unique collaborations that you'll only be able to find at The Glass Jug when we open up in a few weeks. Add to it the last remaining kegs of Berlin Menagerie, a Berliner Weisse that I brewed with John Federal over at Raleigh Brewing Company this summer, and you'll be treated to a trio of beers that should all be delicious and will certainly be unique.
I hope you're getting thirsty, because opening week is right around the corner. We're hoping to announce some dates within the next week, so stay tuned and make sure you are subscribed to our newsletter and are following us on Facebook and Twitter!
