Latest print article: Highlighting the High Gravity Brewfest

McMenamins High Gravity Extravaganza 2017

My latest article in The Bulletin is out today: Feeling Gravity Brewfest’s pull. I dig into this year’s fest a bit, highlighting a couple of the collaboration beers that will be premiering this Saturday.

[Mike] White brews at Wild Ride Brewing Co. in Redmond, and teamed up with current Old St. Francis School brewer Vance Wirtz to collaborate on a Belgian Blonde Ale for the festival, named McWild. “We wanted to go with a style not always seen at beer fests,” said White. “We went with traditional style malts even with some grain/biscuit feel in a golden rod hue. We also added spicy and herbal hops to complement the body and the yeast.” Unlike American blonde ales, the Belgian style is strong and dry, typically in the range of 7 to 8 percent alcohol by volume. McWild is listed at 8.13 percent.

The beer brewed with Fort George is a hazy New England-style IPA named Fort Francis.

“The Fort Francis Hazy was brewed with co-owner/brewer Jack Harris,” [brewer Vance] Wirtz wrote via email. “Jack used to brew for the company back in the day, so it was a cool little trip down memory lane. The beer was brewed with Azacca, Mosaic, and Ekuanot (hops) with a 5-pound-per-barrel dry hop of the trio. Didn’t come in as boozy as Jack wanted, but I think it will go over well with the people attending the fest.”

It’s going to be a good event with some fun beers (the full list is posted here), worth checking out if you’re in town.

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