CAZENOVIA, N.Y. — Empire Brewing Company released Particle City at both their Farm and Brewpub locations today. Back by popular demand, this brew made its debut in January of 2017. It’s local success on draft and rave reviews from brew fests throughout New York made it an obvious candidate for a specialty-canned brand. Still coasting off the demand from last year, the majority of Empire’s Particle City can inventory was pre-sold to Wegmans, but the local supermarket chain didn’t stop there. Over 50 Wegmans representatives actually came out to Cazenovia on February 27th, 2018 for “Empire Beer School” and lent a hand on the packaging line. Particle City will be available at most Wegmans locations throughout New York this weekend as part of their Freshest Beer Program.
North Eastern Style IPAs, widely referred to as a New England Style IPA or NEIPA, have been gaining attention for years. In May of 2017, Beer Advocate called NEIPA an “official style”, as they had undoubtedly become an integral player in the mainstream craft market. Recognizing the rising popularity, Empire’s Director of Brewing Operations, Tim Butler, decided to throw his hat in the ring and developed Empire first NEIPA recipe.
“A ton of research went into this beer from small batch to the 90 Bbl batch that we brewed for this launch.” Brewer Tim Butler recalls. “Particle City was brewed with healthy 5 lbs. of hops per barrel, which is our highest hop/beer ratio to date. I knew from the first sip out of the fermenter that Particle City was destined to be a hit. It was exactly what I wanted, we really nailed it.”
If you expect this hop bomb to be super bitter, think again. Known for their bright hop aroma and citrus flavors, North Eastern IPA’s are not as bitter as you might think. Bittering hops, which give a bitter hop flavor, are added early on at the very beginning of the boil. “I really backed off the bittering hops with Particle City,” Tim explained. “Instead, I focused on introducing the hops in the whirlpool and as late dry hop additions.”
The resulting brew is aromatic and bright, with tropical flavors and a big juicy mouth-feel that only Citra and Mosaic hops can deliver. New York State flaked oats, late whirlpool additions and a three stage dry hop give this unmistakable North Eastern style IPA an iridescent haze but don’t be alarmed, it’s just Particle City. 8%ABV
About Empire Brewing Company
A multi-award winning national and international brewer of specialty craft beers, Empire Brewing Company was established in 1994 as a micro-brewery and restaurant in downtown Syracuse, NY. In 2016, Empire expanded from their 7 BBL microbrewery to the Empire Farm Brewery, now the largest farm brewery in New York State. Judge’s choice for 2017 Best Brewery in New York, the objective of the Empire Farm Brewery is to expand the existing brewing facility and agricultural component of Empire to a stand-alone manufacturing headquarters and agritourism destination in Cazenovia, NY.