Ecliptic+Melvin Team up for a Cosmic Collaboration - Space Ghost Golden Session Barleywine

Courtesy of Ecliptic Brewing Co

PORTLAND, Ore. (May 23)- From Fort George to Worthy and on to Gigantic, the Cosmic Collaboration Series from Ecliptic Brewing has most recently been Oregon brewery focused.  This time around however, Ecliptic looked out east for their next collaboration partner.  Melvin Brewing from Alpine, WY traveled to Portland to create a beer that defies all explanations.  The Cosmic Collaboration is playfully named, Space Ghost Golden Session Barleywine and takes inspiration from Melvin’s illustrious Imperial IPA’s.

“When Jeremy Tofte (Co-Founder/Field Hoperative at Melvin Brewing) and I first talked about this beer he wanted to make a barleywine,” said Owner and Brewmaster of Ecliptic Brewing, John Harris.  “I thought a barleywine in the summer? No way! That’s when the idea for a golden session barleywine was born.” said Harris.

Courtesy of Ecliptic Brewing Co

Ecliptic+Melvin Space Ghost Golden Session Barleywine

Session Barleywine?! What cosmic sorcery!

An unclassifiable phantasm, Space Ghost explodes with a panopoly of Citra, Mosaic, Galaxy, Southern Cross tropical hop flavors with a taste not unlike Melvin’s famous Imperial IPAs.  Complex yet infinitely drinkable, Space Ghost defies all explanations.   ABV 8%  IBU 75

For high res image of the Space Ghost label, visit here.

For high res image of the Space Ghost 22oz bottle, visit here.

Space Ghost Golden Session Barleywine will be available in draft and 22oz package throughout Ecliptic’s distribution network starting early June.

Ecliptic+Melvin will be celebrating the release of the beer in both Portland and Seattle.  Details below:

·       Portland, OR.  Ecliptic+Melvin Space Ghost Release Party. June 6^th, 5-7pm. The Side Street Tavern, 828 SE 34^th Avenue. 

·       Seattle, WA.  Ecliptic+Melvin Space Ghost Release Party.  June 15^th, 6-10:30pm. TeKu Tavern, 552 Denny Way.

About Ecliptic Brewing

Ecliptic Brewing is a venture from John Harris, an Oregon beer icon whose background is steeped in the state’s rich craft brewing history. The name Ecliptic unites Harris’ two passions: brewing and astronomy, and as such, the brewery celebrates the Earth’s yearly journey around the sun through both its beer and restaurant menus. Executive chef Michael Molitor rotates his seasonally inspired menu every six weeks in accordance with the old world calendar. Harris’ signature beers include Spectra Hoppy Pilsner, Orbiter IPA, Carina Peach Sour Ale, and Capella Porter. For more information, visit: www.eclipticbrewing.com.

Ecliptic beers are available at the brewery (825 North Cook St), in package and on-tap throughout the area, and distributed by: Maletis Beverage (Portland, Salem, Vancouver WA), Bigfoot Beverage (Eugene, Bend, Coast), Fort George Distributing (Northern Oregon Coast), Summit Distribution (Southern Oregon), Click Distributing (Seattle, Tacoma, Spokane, Northern Idaho), Dickerson Distributing (Bellingham), Crooked Stave Artisans (Colorado), Freedom Distributors (North Carolina), BeerThirst (Canada), and Graybeal (Eastern Oregon).

3-Way IPA Summer 2016 A Fort George, Barley Brown’s, and Melvin Brewing Collaboration

Courtesy Fort George Brewing

Throwin’ down the truth about 3-Way IPA 2016, straight from the OGs in charge – Chris Nemlowill at Fort George, Tyler Brown of Barley Brown’s Beer, and Jeremy Tofte from Melvin Brewing (with translations for the non-brewers).

THE COLLABORATION

Chris Nemlowill: “Straight up, mad props for your hops. If your kettles had kicks, they’d dunk on Motumbo.”

Jeremy Tofte: “Word. All your ickies are stickies and your drank is dank.”

Tyler Brown: “My Brewers! Bring it in.”

3-Way IPA is a collaboration based on mutual admiration. It’s a chance to share ideas and techniques with some of the world’s finest IPA brewers. Ultimately that knowledge is utilized in the brewing process and refined over the course of extensive beta batch testing. Four test batches were brewed this year, each with subtle changes to ingredients, amounts, and timing of additions.

THE MALT BILL

Tyler: “Shoot for 7.4?”

Chris: “7.3 ABV works for me.”

Jeremy: “7 point 35, right down the middle. Call it a sessionizzle.”

Tyler: “Fo shizzle.”

Courtesy Fort George Brewing

With the grain bill the goal was to produce an ultra-pale color, creating a simple yet solid canvas for maximum hop expression. 2-row barley is the base with additions of Pilsner, C15, and wheat (although Carapils was used in one test batch). A lower than average mash temp decreased the amount of residual sugar. This allowed the beer to have sweetness derived from the hop character rather than the malt. Astoria’s slow sand-filtered water is ideal for brewing. This was enhanced with gypsum and calcium chloride to decrease the mash PH and improve hop utilization.

THE HOPS

Jeremy: “Mo’ hops, mo’ money.”

Chris: “Long as my pint is phat, I don’t give a f*** where my IBUs at.”

Tyler: “I feel ya. Make the beer, don’t let the beer make you.”

Hop additions were as follows:

1st - Apollo hops for bittering - a high alpha hop that tends to exude grapefruit notes and contributes to an elaborate citrus character as it interacts with the aroma hops.

2nd - Simcoe, and a lot of it. This addition is 2x the quantity of the 1st addition.

3rd - Simcoe, Citra, and Mosaic, added later than the average 3rd addition to decrease bittering and magnify the pleasant citrus character.

Dry Hopping – Double dry-hopped with Galaxy, Mosaic, and Citra. These hop additions create peach, pineapple, and grapefruit taste and aroma. The second dry hop addition is roused with CO2 to boost the hop efficacy.

Courtesy Fort George Brewing

THE BEER

Jeremy: “We cool?”

Chris: “Keepin’ it real.”

Tyler: “One love.”

3-Way IPA is an unfiltered beer, pale in appearance, combining a balanced juicy body, superb lacing, and every citrus fruit aroma you can imagine. Give your beer its props - keep it cold-stored and drink fresh.

Look for Fort George 3-Way IPA in 16-ounce four-packs and draft starting the week of June 13^th and throughout the summer. Fort George beer is distributed exclusively in the Pacific Northwest. For a preview join Chris, Tyler, and Jeremy at the following release parties:

Boise, Idaho - Thursday June 9th - 5pm to 9pm

PreFunk Beer Bar - 1100 W Front St

3-Way IPA and an assortment of taps from

Fort George, Barley Brown’s, and Melvin Brewing

Portland, Oregon - Friday June 10th - 5pm to 9pm

White Owl Social Club - 1305 SE 8th Ave

Live music from Brass Monkeys - no cover

3-Way IPA and an assortment of taps from

Fort George, Barley Brown’s, and Melvin Brewing

Seattle, Washington - Saturday June 11th - 5pm to 9pm

Brouwer’s Cafe - 400 N 35th St

Live music from Brass Monkeys - no cover

3-Way IPA and an assortment of taps from

Fort George, Barley Brown’s, and Melvin Brewing

Fort George Brewery

1483 Duane Street

Astoria, Oregon 97103

503-325-PINT

Jackson’s Melvin Brewing Wins Small Brewpub Of The Year And Wins Gold And Silver Medals At GABF

Melvin Brewing and Charlie Papazian

JACKSON, WY - October 1, 2015 -

Melvin Brewing returned home from last weekend’s Great American Beer Festival with the craft brewing industry’s top honor — the Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year Award.

As Melvin’s biggest award to date, this is a tremendous industry endorsement, showing respect for Melvin’s exceptional beers and the experience of its brewing team. Now in its 34th year, the Great American Beer Festival is the largest commercial beer competition in the world and one of the most prestigious beer judging events in the country.

Melvin also brought home two Brewer Association Medals: the Gold medal for American Style Fruit Beer and the Bronze medal for Fresh or Wet Hop Ale.

Having won the underground YCH Hops Alpha King Competition in both 2012 & 2013, Melvin’s 2x4 DIPA took 2^nd place in 2015. Both of Melvin’s entries, 2x4 & Drunken Master, placed among the top 15 in a field of more than 130 beers.  The Alpha King contest is the top competition of well balanced and drinkable, yet highly hopped ales.

John Fayman, a Melvin investor and craft beer authority, said this signals Melvin is ready for the big time.

“This is as much about the Brewers Association recognizing the incredible job that the Melvin Team has done as it is about the Brewers Association letting Melvin know that it’s ready for distribution in Colorado and everywhere else,” Fayman said.

As if on cue following the festival awards ceremony, distributors from around the country flocked to Melvin’s table to discuss Melvin’s distribution strategy in their territory. The success parallels the recent opening of Melvin’s new 20,000 square foot brewery in Alpine, Wyoming. Located just a few miles from Jackson Hole, where Melvin plans to make beer from the future.  Melvin is expanding distribution this year to Colorado and Washington and points beyond in the future.

In 2014, Melvin Brewing won two medals at the World Beer Cup: A Gold in the Imperial India Pale Ale category for its 2x4 and a Bronze in the Fruit Beer category for its ChChChCh-Cherry Bomb. Both beers won also medals (Cherry Bomb - Silver, 2x4 - Gold) at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival.   2x4 is the only IPA to win Alpha King, GABF Gold and WBC Gold.

Melvin Brewery is located in the heart of downtown Jackson Hole at Thai Me Up Restaurant, which was started in 2000 by Melvin founder Jeremy Tofte.  The new production facility will be up and running this fall. Melvin is currently installing its custom built Newlands 30bbl, 4 vessel system. 

The Great American Beer Festival had its best year too . . .

Hosted by the Brewers Association this year in Boulder, CO, The Great American Beer Festival surpassed all previous participation records, with 6,647 entries in 92 beer categories covering 145 different beer styles. A panel of 242 judges from 15 countries awarded 275 professional medals to 242 breweries.

More than 1,500 breweries from all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., attended, including 423 first-time participants.

The 2016 Great American Beer Festival will be held Oct. 6-8 in Denver.

Courtesy of Melvin Brewing Co

About Melvin Brewing

Melvin Brewing was founded in 2009 by Jeremy Tofte and Kirk McHale to fulfill their need to drink the biggest, most exciting West-Coast Style IPAs in Jackson, WY. Experimenting on a 20 gallon, then three-barrel system, they developed the Melvin IPA and 2x4 Imperial IPA, which went on to win Gold medals at the 2012 Great American Beer Festival, back-to-back Alpha King awards in 2012 and 2013, and a Gold Medal at the World Beer Cup. On the strength of these and other beer brands, Melvin Brewing was awarded the 2015 Small Brew Pub and Small Brew Pub Brewer of the year.

Melvin brewing now has more than 40 amazing beer recipes to its name, expanding its portfolio of hoppy beers and other styles, with brands such as ChChCh-Cherry Bomb (Fruit Beer), Killer Bees (Honey Ale), Coffee Ruckus (Coffee Imperial Stout), Hey Zeus (Mexican Lager) to name drop a few.

In the fourth quarter of 2015, Melvin Brewing will open its production facility in Alpine, WY, brewing on a new 30-barrel, 4-vessel system.  Kirk will keep manning the three-barrel in the closet at Jackson, Wyoming’s Thai Me Up Restaurant.   He will keep creating some of the most exciting beers on the market today while listening to Wu-Tang at full blast.  Dave Chichura, formerly of Oskar Blue’s, will helm the controls in Alpine, while listening to Ween at full blast.

Melvin Brewing
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242 Breweries Take Home Medals at 2015 Great American Beer Festival®

We just made it back from our first trip to GABF...what an experience, more in the coming days on our trip. Leaving early on Saturday meant we would miss the GABF awards which was a bummer, but we were able to follow along for most of it on social media. If you missed the awards and want to know who won the Brewers Association has posted the infomation on the 275 medals that were awarded this year.

Photo Credit © Brewers Association

275 Professional Medals Awarded, 423 First-Time Participants Compete

Boulder, CO • September 26, 2015—The 2015 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition awarded 275 medals to some of the best commercial breweries in the United States, plus three GABF Pro-Am medals to teams of amateur brewers paired with professional brewers.

 

Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest commercial beer competition in the world and a symbol of brewing excellence. In its 29th year, the 2015 competition surpassed all previous participation records, exceeding last year’s record-setting competition.

 

View the 2015 winners or download a PDF list of the winners.

 

Overview: Great American Beer Festival Competition

 

Award-winning brewers received prestigious gold, silver and bronze medals in 92 beer categories covering 145 different beer styles (including all subcategories), establishing the best examples of each style in the country. Winners were chosen from 6,647 competition entries (20 percent more than in 2014) from 1,552 breweries hailing from 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

 

This year's GABF competition saw its biggest panel of judges ever, with 242 beer experts from 15 countries, including the U.S., and 155 competition volunteers. The panel also evaluated 91 Pro-Am entries.

2015 Brewery and Brewer of the Year Awards

Very Small Brewing Company and Very Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year

Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group (BSG)

Rip Current Brewery (San Marcos, Calif.)
Paul Sangster and Guy Shobe

 

Small Brewing Company and Small Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by O-I

Port City Brewing Co. (Alexandria, Va.)
Port City Brewing Co. Team

 

Mid-Size Brewing Company and Mid-Size Brewing Company Brewer of the Year

Sponsored by MicroStar Logistics

Firestone Walker Brewing Co. (Paso Robles, Calif.)
Firestone Walker Brewing Co. Team

 

Large Brewing Company and Large Brewing Company Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Beer Institute

Pabst Brewing Co. (Los Angeles, Calif.)
Gregory Deuhs

 

Small Brewpub and Small Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co.

Melvin Brewing (Jackson, Wyo.)
Kirk McHale and Jeremy Tofte

 

Mid-Size Brewpub of the Year

Sponsored by Brewers Supply Group (BSG)

TAPS Fish House & Brewery (Corona, Calif.)
TAPS Fish House & Brewery Team

Large Brewpub and Large Brewpub Brewer of the Year
Sponsored by Country Malt Group

Titletown Brewing Co. (Green Bay, Wis.)
David Oldenburg

 

Overall Competition Highlights

Reflecting craft brewing's sustained excellence nationwide as the industry grows, overall competition highlights include:

 

·         38 first-time entering breweries won awards.

 

·         Top three states by ratio of medals to entries by state:

 

o   Maine: 21% with 14 entries and three medals

o   Rhode Island: 10% with 10 entries and one medal

o   North Dakota: 8% with 12 entries and one medal

 

·         Most medals won, with three medals each:

 

o   Firestone Walker Brewing Co., Paso Robles, Calif. (three medals: two gold, one bronze)

o   Sun King Brewing Co., Indianapolis, Ind. (three medals: one gold, one silver, one bronze)

o   Port City Brewing Co.; Alexandria, Va. (three medals: two silver, one bronze)

o   Left Hand Brewing Co.; Longmont, Colo. (three medals: one gold, two bronze)

·         The 2015 competition saw three new style categories:

 

o   Category 8: Chili Pepper Beer

o   Category 16: Session India Pale Ale

o   Category 24B: Mixed Culture Brett Beer

 

·         No gold medal was awarded in Category 6: Pumpkin Beer. (See GABF awards philosophy and criteria.)

 

Style Categories

 

Since 2002, the most-entered category has been American-Style India Pale Ale (IPA), which saw 336 entries in 2015.

 

The top five entered categories were:

 

1.      American-Style India Pale Ale (336 entries)

2.      Imperial India Pale Ale (208 entries)

3.      Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (179 entries)

4.      Session India Pale Ale (161 entries)

5.      American-Style Pale Ale (160 entries)

 

The winners in the most-entered (that is, the most competitive) categories were:

 

1.      American-Style India Pale Ale (336 entries)

Gold: BNS Brewing & Distilling Co., Revolver IPA (Santee, Calif.)

Silver: Wicked Weed Brewing – Candler, Pernicious IPA (Candler, N.C.)

Bronze: The Brew Kettle Taproom and Smokehouse, White Rajah (Strongsville, Ohio)

2.      Imperial India Pale Ale (208 entries)

Gold: Fat Head’s Brewery, Hop Juju Imperial IPA (Middleburg Heights, Ohio)

Silver: Laurelwood Public House and Brewery, Eazy Duz It IIPA (Portland, Ore.)

Bronze: Breakwater Brewing Co., Teahupo’o (Oceanside, Calif.)

3.      Wood- and Barrel-Aged Strong Beer (179 entries)

Gold: Nebraska Brewing Co., Melange A Trois (La Vista, Neb.)

Silver: Sun King Brewing Co., Batch 666: Sympathy for the Devil (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Bronze: Ska Brewing, Ska Face (Durango, Colo.)

4.      Session India Pale Ale (161 entries)

Gold: Societe Brewing Co., The Coachman (San Diego, Calif.)

Silver: Steel Toe Brewing, Size 4 (St. Louis Park, Minn.)

Bronze: Noble Ale Works, Nose Candy (Anaheim, Calif.)

5.      American-Style Pale Ale (160 entries)

Gold: Central Coast Brewing Co., Monterey St. Pale Ale (San Luis Obispo, Calif.)

Silver: Track 7 Brewing Co. – Natomas, Hoppy Palm (Sacramento, Calif.)

Bronze: Cannonball Creek Brewing Co., Featherweight Pale Ale (Golden, Colo.)

2015 Great American Beer Festival Pro-Am Competition
Sponsored by Briess Malt & Ingredients Co., The Country Malt Group, Yakima Chief-Hopunion and White Labs

Gold, silver and bronze medals were also awarded in the GABF Pro-Am competition, which pairs amateur brewers with professional brewers, who scale up the award-winning homebrew recipes. The medal winners, including the winning professional brewers and American Homebrewers Association (AHA) member homebrewers are:

 

Gold: Muscat Love, Great South Bay Brewery, (Bay Shore, N.Y.)

Brewmaster: Great South Bay Brewery Team and AHA member Brian Giebel

Silver: Atahsaisa, Odd13 Brewing (Lafayette, Colo.)

Brewmaster: Ryan Scott and Brandon Boldt and AHA member Mike Froehlich

Bronze: Citra IPA, FATE Brewing Co. (Boulder, Colo.)

Brewmaster: FATE Brewing Company Team and AHA member Ryan Lotter

Summary: 2015 Great American Beer Festival Statistics

 

·         750 breweries in the festival hall

·         3,800 beers served at the festival

·         60,000 attendees

·         3,400 volunteers (festival and competition combined)

·         1,552 breweries in the competition from 50 states plus Washington, D.C.

·         242 medal-winning breweries

·         6,647 beers judged (not including 91 Pro-Am competition entries), a 20 percent increase over 2014

·         92 style categories judged, plus the Pro-Am competition

·         242 judges from 15 different countries

·         Average number of competition beers entered in each category: 72 (excludes Pro-Am beers)

·         Category with highest number of entries: American-Style India Pale Ale: 336

 

2015 Great American Beer Festival Official Sponsors

Carhartt
DRAFT Magazine
MicroStar Logistics
Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Brews
CraftBeer.com

Additional GABF sponsors are recognized on the festival website.

Courtesy of the Brewers Association

About the Brewers Association

The Brewers Association is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to small and independent American brewers, their beers and the community of brewing enthusiasts. The Brewers Association (BA) represents more than 70 percent of the brewing industry, and its members make more than 99 percent of the beer brewed in the U.S. The BA organizes events including the World Beer Cup^®, Great American Beer Festival^®, Craft Brewers Conference & BrewExpo America^®, SAVOR℠: An American Craft Beer & Food Experience, AHA National Homebrewers Conference, National Homebrew Competition and American Craft Beer Week^®. The BA publishes The New Brewer magazine and its Brewers Publications

Beer lovers are invited to learn more about the dynamic world of craft beer at CraftBeer.com and about homebrewing via the BA’s American Homebrewers Association. Follow us on Twitter.