Top 100 Beers of 2018

#6

96
by Rick Franckhauser
Rupture
Odell Brewing Co.

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Chief Operating Officer Brendan McGivney Talks Rupture

Who was responsible for this beer’s recipe?
All recipe development at Odell Brewing Co. is a group effort from our R&D team. We are a proudly independent, employee-owned brewery, and we truly believe we achieve the best results through collaboration.

What sets this beer apart from other examples within the style?
We did not know of any other Fresh Grind Ale styles in the market, so we wanted to share our experience with the process beyond our pilot system and taproom.

What makes this beer truly world class?
The hop farmers! It is thanks to their hard work and dedication that we have access to this incredible raw material. We just wanted to unlock the potential of the hop cone immediately – before adding it to the wort and beer. We utilize whole hop flowers as well as pelletized hops in our other beers, but we felt we could unlock maximum flavor and aroma potential with freshly ground flowers in Rupture. We did this by installing a custom hammer mill at our brewery. The whole flower hops are ‘ruptured’ in the hammer mill and are immediately thrown into the brew.

What is your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, mouthfeel, etc.)?
The uniquely fresh hop aroma and flavor, which transports me back to the middle of a hop field during hop harvest!

How popular is this beer among your faithful fans?
Rupture has become our #3 seller since its launch (behind only 90 Shilling Ale and Odell IPA), so people seem to dig it. We kept the malt bill light and the IBUs down to show off the hops while still making it more approachable to those intimidated by most IPAs.

Where does this beer’s name come from?
The name comes from the brewing process. We installed a custom hammer-mill at our brewery which we used to rupture the lupulin glands in the fresh whole flower hops. Rupturing those lupulin glands releases that bright hop
aroma you find in the beer.

Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Citrus, floral and pine aromas with a clean, dry finish.

Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
We built a custom hammer mill at the brewery to grind the hops for this beer. We realize it might be a rather inefficient process, but we think it makes for a rather extraordinary beer. What we grind that day, we use that day. This is how Rupture gets its incredibly fresh aroma.

Judge’s Second Opinion

I’m old enough to remember when American Pale Ale was “the new thing” in the world of beer. Microbrewery was the name given for the small breweries that were starting up and word was getting out about these crazy new hoppy American beer styles. Sometime in the late 80s I read about a homebrewer that started a small brewery called Sierra Nevada that was putting out a hoppy American version of a pale ale. It would be more than a year later before I would actually be able to sample a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale for the first time. I remember it vividly because the hop aroma blew me away. I had been homebrewing for a while at that point and, like all other homebrewers in those days, had used Cascade hops in my own attempts to brew an APA, but I had never experienced them like what I found in that Sierra Nevada. That fresh grapefruit and subtle malt sweetness, the firm bitterness, so well balanced and drinkable.

In the months and years to follow APAs were the number one style in the microbreweries and brewpubs that were springing up around the country. As time went by and American craft beer drinkers’ cravings for ever-increasing hop levels grew, APAs served as the gateway to American IPAs, Double IPAs and a plethora of IPA variants. As our palates acclimated to the increased hop levels, some found APAs to be the craft beer equivalent to light lagers.

Fortunately, we still get to have our minds blown by a well-crafted APA sometimes. When I first brought my glass of Odell Brewing’s Rupture APA to my nose, I was transported back to that first Sierra Nevada experience. Not that Rupture is similar but the wow factor struck me in the same manner. Super fresh, grassy in a pleasant fresh way, herbal and lemony aromatics are so inviting your mouth waters in expectation. The flavor does not disappoint. Well balanced with enough malt to keep it from moving into the IPA realm.

While Rupture may be at the high end of the style range it is still perhaps the best example of the style I’ve come across in many years. – Rick Franckhauser