Lookin’ Fresh
Look who’s got a mid-summer refresh! Our highly rated flagship IPA, Aroma Dome IPA, now comes in gorgeous PAINTED cans! What’s so great about painted cans? They’re easier to package, as we no longer have to apply a label to each can after it’s filled. They’re also easier to recycle, since you don’t have to take that label back off after you’ve finished your beer! How about that?!
You can grab these snazzy new cans at our taproom, and keep a lookout for them at your favorite BSBC-carrying retailers!
A Message from the Brewer
Hello, everyone,
Today, I'm going to talk about dry hopping. By now, we should all know that hops provide myriad flavors and aromas to beer, ranging from citrus, pine, tropical, herbal, chocolate (?!), spicy, botanical, just about anything under the sun. Dry hopping is the technique of adding hops to beer on the cold side (post cooling to fermentation vessel). From here, the practice varies greatly depending on who you talk to and what they are trying to accomplish. Dry hops can be added before wort is in the fermentation vessel, at the start of fermentation, mid fermentation, the end of fermentation, post fermentation warm, post fermentation cool, I'm sure I missed some point where people try to jam more hops into beer.
Adding hops into beer on the cold side doesn't add any substantial amount of bitterness (we could do an entire lesson on bitterness contributions and subtractions from dry hopping) but tends to add a large amount of flavor and aroma, which are different from hops added on the hot side. Dry hopping amounts can range anywhere from 0.5 lbs of hops/barrel of beer in lighter styles all the way up to 8+ lbs of hops/barrel of beer in double or triple IPAs. For Aroma Dome IPA, we add right around 2 lbs of hops/barrel of beer in our dry hop. For our double IPAs, we add closer to 4.5 lbs of hops/barrel.
There are some other terms that get thrown around quite a lot. Double dry hopped can mean two different things. Either it is dry hopped at two different points during the fermentation process or the beer is dry hopped with twice its normal amount of hops. At Black Spruce, we used to specially do a double dry hop on our double IPAs, but decided we liked it so much that it just became the norm. The other term that gets thrown around is two stage dry hop. This is similar to the first definition of double dry hopped: the beer is hopped at two different points of fermentation or conditioning. You can also have triple dry hopped, quadruple dry hopped, ad nauseum.
Cheers,
Carey
Sippin’ Stars
Our latest release is a draft exclusive and a fun counter to our usual hazy, juicy offerings. A Taste of Starlight West Coast Pale Ale features sturdy bitterness and medium body. Mosaic and Citra hops provide dank notes of pineapple and citrus. If you’re jonesin’ for something a little more bitter, this one’s for you. No cans on this one, but all the glasses and growler fills your heart could ever desire.
Patio Power
How about this real summer weather, huh? We’ve got oodles of cold, refreshing options available to help you beat the heat, like:
- Beer Slushies - Currently Slushing is WOW! Real Fruit: Raspberry Blood Orange Smoothie-Style Sour
- FBX LITE American Light Lager on our side pull faucet.
- Non-Alcoholic Options (Moose’s Tooth Root Beer, Zip Kombucha, Athletic Brewing NA Beers)
- Both Golden Heart Off-Dry Cider and Pinnell Pineapple Semi-Sweet Cider return later this week!
Upcoming Events
All this heat has us feeling hungry AND thirsty. Check out this week’s food trucks:
- TODAY 7/24 Corn Diggity Dogs
- Tuesday 7/25 Early Bird Loaded Fries
- Wednesday 7/26 Fireweed Bites
- Thursday 7/27 TBD
- Friday 7/28 & Saturday 7/29 3PM-8PM El Ranchero Tacos
Registration is now open for the 2023 Nenana-Rama Bike Race, taking place Saturday, August 26! Choose from 25 or 50-mile courses, and prepare for a day of hard pedaling and tons of fun!
Our next First Friday will be held on Friday, August 4 and will feature returning artist Baxter Bond! Bax’s stunning photos from around Alaska will be on display and available for purchase all month long.
Brewery Brunch is held at our taproom every Saturday from noon until 3PM. Special brunch beer cocktails, like our spicy red beer, will be offered. We’ll also have fresh pastries from local bakeries like Marlo’s and Little Owl Cafe.
Our next round of Anchorage and Mat-Su deliveries is scheduled for Friday, August 11. We’ll be restocking your favorite bars, restaurants and retailers with BSBC staples and new releases.