GOLDEN, CO – AC Golden Brewing Company has developed an India Pale Lager (IPL) that Colorado Old Chicago restaurants will feature during their St. Patrick’s Day Mini Beer Tour, February 22 through March 18.
“We felt that, even though the IPA category is crowded, there was room for a beer with the hoppy goodness of an IPA but without the fruity esters that ale yeasts create,” said Glenn Knippenberg, president and co-founder of AC Golden. “Using lager yeast instead of ale yeast allows the delicate hop characters to shine through as only a lager can do. Our brewers jokingly call it our hop delivery vehicle.”
The result is a beer with a huge hop aroma and a long-lasting billowy head. The beer has a slight haze from being unfiltered. It is a dry and drinkable brew with a surprisingly clean finish. AC Golden’s IPL contains 3.3 pounds of hops per barrel — Cascade, Centennial, Chinook and Simcoe — with one of those pounds being in the dry hop.
“Being a part of Old Chicago’s Mini Beer Tour is a great opportunity for us to sample the beer with Colorado drinkers,” said Knippenberg. AC Golden’s brewers will be visiting various Old Chicago’s to talk with guests about the IPL and to hear what they think about this relatively new style of beer.
Alcohol content: 6.8% ABV
IBU: 75
Calories: 200 per 12-ounce serving
Yeast: Bottom-fermenting Lager Yeast
Bittering hops: Chinook
Finishing hops: Centennial, Cascade, Simcoe
Dry hops: Centennial, Cascade, Simcoe
Malts: Two-row Moravian Pale, Munich
Pairings: Pairs well with big blue goat cheeses like Gorgonzola or Roquefort. The huge floral hops will help balance out the funky notes of the cheese and the CO2 will help mellow the creaminess.
About AC Golden Brewing Company:
AC Golden Brewing Company, located in Golden, Colo., was established to create specialty beers for discriminating beer drinkers. It specializes in small batch, hand-crafted brewing. Its beers include: Colorado Native, and amber lager made with all Colorado ingredients; Herman Joseph’s, a German-style lager, and Barmen Pilsner.