We spoke with Flying Dog Brewery Brewmaster Ben Clark about Kujo.

What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?  
The coffee notes! We use a cold steeping process to add the coffee, which helps ensure a smooth coffee flavor without astringency.

Is this your “desert island beer?” 
More like dessert island beer.

Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?  
Super smooth cold-brewed coffee beer.

Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer? 
Kujo is created by not one but two brewing experts in the state of Maryland. Our devious friends at Vigilante Coffee Co. (coffee brewing experts with locations in Hyattsville, MD and College Park, MD) worked with us to find the perfect beans for the brew. Roastmasters and brewmasters from both teams taste-tested multiple trials and adjusted the roasting process as needed to find the proper combination for the beer. Kujo is brewed with 100% Colombian coffee, a medium roast of the varietal Caturra sourced from small farms located in Huila and Tolima. The beans, nicknamed La Caturrita, are smaller than the average coffee bean and are sourced directly by the Vigilante Coffee Co. team.

What's a good food pairing for this beer?  
Anything with bacon or barbecue as well as chocolate desserts.

We spoke with Flying Dog Brewery Brewmaster Ben Clark about Vicious Hook.

Who came up with this beer’s recipe?
The concept for the beer was a Brewhouse Rarities pitch from an employee. Brewhouse Rarities is an annual tradition where Flying Dog employees gather in the mountains for a day of bonding, beer drinking and pitches. Anyone in the company is encouraged to pitch a concept for a new beer, which is then considered for the following year's lineup. We know our team is a group of creative beer geniuses so Brewhouse Rarities is an opportunity we all look forward to and it has resulted in some of our most exciting beers. The actual recipe development for Vicious Hook was a team effort done through multiple test batches.

What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)? 
The hint of childhood nostalgia from the flavor and aroma. The beer smells and tastes just like fruit punch. 

Where does this beer’s name come from?
The name of the beer is a boxing term, referencing the beer's sweet start that finishes with a savage jolt of sourness and hits like a heavyweight.

Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Adult fruit punch!

What's a good food pairing for this beer? 
Add some vanilla ice cream and make a float! Coconut or ginger cookies would work well too.
 

We spoke with Denizens Brewing Co. Chief Beer Officer & Co-Founder Jeff Ramirez about Born Bohemian Pils.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
My favorite aspect is that all the premium ingredients we us in this beer are able to shine. We use Weyermann Malt direct from Bamburg, Germany, which is so fun to work with as it creates everything: a good foam stand, wonderful biscuity/bready aromas and flavors as well as a great mouthfeel. The Saaz hops from the Czech Republic lends a floral, herbal aroma and flavor that does not overpower the malt but complements it in balance. The lager yeast ultimately creates a blank canvas for these ingredients to be showcased over.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
Born Bohemian Pilsner is another name for Czech Pilsner. We created or "birthed" this pilsner by emulating the Czech brewing tradition.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
Born Bohemian would be my dessert island beer among our lineup. As a Czech Pils, it has a little more roundness and body than a German Pils does while still having a solid hop aroma and flavor.

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Biscuity, citrus and floral notes.

BC: What's a good food pairing for this beer?
Seafood tower featuring lobster, oyters, shrimp, etc. 

We spoke with Denizens Brewing Co. Chief Beer Officer & Co-Founder Jeff Ramirez about Papagayo.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
It's fun to create a beer that's yeast-forward, yet without having the saison yeast in the primary fermentation and the Brett in the secondary fermentation, this beer would be completely different. The spicy and tropical fermentation characteristics accentuate the fruit addition of soursop (guanabana) and pineapple.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
Named for the papagayo wind jet that travels north of the Gulf of Papagayo in Central America. The idea is that this whirlwind of tropical flavors from the south is driven up north to our Mid-Atlantic brewery.

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Spicy, dry and refreshing with unique tropical fruit flavors.

We spoke with Olde Mother Brewing Co. Head Brewer Jake Beamer about Dire Wolf.

BC: Where does this beer's name come from?
I sometimes nerd out over Pleistocene Megafauna. We've made other beers named after them too, like Megalonyx and Glyptodon. So it just made sense to do one named after a Dire Wolf, and it's been one of our most popular IPAs.

BC: What's a good food pairing for this beer?
DIPAs go amazing with Mexican food. For Dire Wolf I'd go with chorizo tacos with onion, cilantro and lime.

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Citra hops. Basically, that's it. Is that less than ten?

BC: Is this your "desert island beer"
If I'm only having one beer on the island it's probably a pilsner or saison. So no, but Dire Wolf would be in my top 10.

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We spoke with Olde Mother Brewing Co. Head Brewer Jake Beamer about Fermata.

BC: Where does this beer's name come from?
The name Fermata comes from musical notation. It indicates an extended hold for an unspecified amount of time. That perfectly ties together with barrel-aged beers and the suspense that builds as a result of the maturation process. 

BC: What is your favorite aspect of this beer?
Balance of flavor is key with this style, there's no fruit or hops present so it can be tricky to get the balance right because acidity, funk and barrel character are playing off of each other. I typically do a 50/50 blend of two barrels that complement each other to get the right balance.

BC: What's a good food pairing with this beer?
Fermata pairs great with charcuterie boards. The acidity helps cut through rich cheeses and cured meats.

BC: Who came up with this beer's recipe?
I came up with the concept years ago but it wasn't until the barrel program really got going that I was able to make it happen. The recipe is pretty simple; pilsner and wheat. I think the process is what makes fermata unique. This is the third time I've made it and it changes a little each time depending on the blend that works best.

We spoke with Bhramari Brewing Co. Founder and Head Brewer Gary Sernack about Holy Simcoe, Batman!

We spoke with Bhramari Brewing Co. Founder and Head Brewer Gary Sernack about Rhymes with Purple.

We spoke with Wild Leap Brew Co. Chief Brewing Officer Chris Elliott about Alpha Abstraction, Vol. 14.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
Absolutely. This is a beer that I drink almost every day. 

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Pure, sweet, delicious pink grapefruit. 

BC: Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
This beer features a hop that I have been hunting for a while. I read an article about this experimental variety that had unbelievable pink grapefruit characteristics and was an absolute favorite amongst hop growers. It was HBC 692. I couldn't find enough of the hop to do a large release, so I put this recipe on hold. Then out of the blue I saw a press release that the hop would be named "Talus" and was available. I ordered immediately and finally got my hands on enough to do a large release!

BC: What's a good food pairing for this beer?
This beer pairs very nicely with sweet smoky barbecue meats. 

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