 | E-Malt.com News article: USA, CA: Coachella Valley Brewing Company to launch Big Cat Brew
The new brewery on the block, Coachella Valley Brewing Company, has teamed up with The Living Desert and will unveil an ale that has a taste as bold as the desert itself, mydesert.com reported on April, 24.
Big Cat Brew is a saison ale brimming with spices, from rosemary to white sage.
The beer will be revealed at The Living Desert’s annual Brew at the Zoo on May, 4.
“We’re trying to create something that has a lot of local background and local character,” said David Humphrey, the brewery’s CEO.
“It’s going to drum up a lot of support for local gardening and local produce if somebody is walking through The Living Desert, drinking a beer, and saying, ‘That was made from that plant right there.’ ”
Brewmaster Chris Anderson paired up with the zoo’s curator of gardens, Kirk Anderson, to utilize the spices grown around the park.
Chris Anderson, who is also the brewery’s chief operating officer, wasn’t sure what spices he was in pursuit for, but after traipsing the grounds for over an hour, he settled on rosemary and white sage.
“I’m not a big guy on muddling,” said Chris Anderson. “One thing I’m a big stickler on, and I always have been, is I want everything to layer in terms of the flavor profile. I don’t want anything to overpower one another.”
“I think it promotes interest in the native plants,” said Kirk Anderson. “People are more interested in the plants when there is a use for them. It’s an innovative use that not many people would think about.”
The herbs are being used in the brewery’s smaller pilot system. Once they start producing larger quantities of the beer, it will require at least one pound of spices and utilization of the larger barrels on the brewery’s premises.
“They’re kind of funky beers in terms of their aromatics and flavors,” explained Chris Anderson.
“Traditionally these beers were brewed by the farmhouse people for the farmhouse people. The name ‘saison’ is essentially ‘season,’ so whatever was seasonal in terms of the ingredients was what would make it in the beer.”
In addition to unveiling the beer at the event, Coachella Valley Brewing Company will also be providing a recipe for home brewers. The recipe is for a Belgian-style tripel.
The beer will be available for sale at the park’s cafe, the brewery and other interested retailers.
Big Cat Brew is just one bottle of suds in a series that Chris Anderson hopes to dub farm-to-glass.
The brewery is hoping to work with area farms to bring local flavors and produce into their production. Flavoring with locally grown citrus is just one idea bubbling in the brewer’s mind.
The 17-barrel brewhouse is set to open up next month in Thousand Palms and Humphrey hopes the brewery will fill a void in the valley.
“When my wife and I had the idea a few years ago ... we were just wondering why an area, such a tourism-driven area, didn’t have its own local beer offering,” Humphrey said. “I thought that was reason enough to do something.”
The duo has high hopes for their brewery. In the first year, Chris Anderson is hoping to brew at least 20 beers and hasn’t yet decided which will be considered the company’s flagship beverages.
“Our beers are not going to be your normal fare. We want it to be a deal where you come into our brewery, and it’s like 31 flavors of ice cream, where you get a different type every time you come in,” he said.
26 April, 2013
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