The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley Attends Craft Beer Conference

NAPA VALLEY, Calif. — When Cheboygan Brewing Co. brewed its first batch of Blood Orange Honey, Brewmaster Mike Eme planned on it being a seasonal beer.

“We told our distributors the last order was going to be in October and the phone rang off the hook telling us demand was picking up and we would lose tap handles if we didn’tkeep making it,” said Eme, founder of the Michigan brewery.

Blood Orange Honey remains Cheboygan’s top seller, with three tanks devoted solely to its production. Eme brews Blood Orange Honey with Blood Orange Concentrate and Orange Zest from The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley, along with Michigan wildflower honey for a residual sweet and creamy flavor. The result is a silky smooth, medium-bodied American-style wheat beer with an exhilarating nose of citrus.

Eme says once he added Blood Orange Honey to his list of flagship beers, he needed a stable purée to ensure batch consistency.

“Let’s face it, we all would love to use local fruits straight from the farm but there are a huge amount of variables with a crate of fresh fruit, let alone the time it takes to process the fruit. Then we have to sanitize them. Many do that by putting the fruit in the boil, and where does all that great aroma and flavor go? Right up the stack.”

Consistent from coast to coast

Cheboygan Brewing Co. is among 50-plus craft brewers nationwide using The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley to make innovative, fruit-forward beers that keep customers coming back.

The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley is exhibiting for the first time at the Craft Brewers Conference, April 30-May 3 in Nashville. Attendees will be able to sample our fresh flavors and learn how fellow brewers are using our purées. Foodservice media and professionals can request complimentary samples  by visiting https://perfectpuree.com/complimentarysamples.

Jeremiah Zimmer of Chicago’s Hop Butcher for the World says when he needs to elevate and complement a beer’s color, flavor and aroma — fruit purées are ideal. “Fruit is such a perfect ingredient in the brewing process and The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley purées are so fresh and clean that there’s a beer style out there for all of your offerings,” Jeremiah said.

Adroit Theory Brewing Company in Louden County, Va., makes a refreshing, tropical IPA brewed with The Perfect Purée Mango. Since opening in 2014, Adroit has made more than 400 one-offs, all of them with interesting flavors and ingredients. Adroit’s owner, Mark Osborne, says the seasonal appeal of Angel’s Trumpet makes it one of Adroit’s few repeat beers. “We don’t make very many hop-forward beers, so when we do, they need to be special,” Osborne said.

Stickmen Brewing Company in Lake Oswego, Ore., uses Prickly Pear in a smooth, bright and slightly tart kettle-soured beer called Kid Vegas. “Craft is at the heart of what we do,” said Head Brewer Cobi Brothers. “The Perfect Purée allows us to create unique products in a market that is literally doing almost everything possible.”

Andy Hooper, the director of brewery operations for Anderson Valley Brewing Company in Boonville, Calif., says acidic fruits in particular harmonize well with certain beers. He uses The Perfect Purée Blood Orange in two Gose beers that are part of the brewery’s Highway 128 Session Series, a response to its fans’ requests for new and interesting beers that are lighter in body and alcohol.

Hooper says he’s found that purees and concentrates are the closest he can get to the flavor and performance of whole fruit without brewery staff having to process all that fruit themselves. Other options like extracts, essences, and artificial flavors don’t have the same flavor quality, even if they are easier to use.

Cheboygan’s Eme says he appreciates The Perfect Puree’s complimentary sample program. “We use samples in some neutral tasting beers to get an idea of the aroma and flavors we can expect from the juice,” Eme said.

“Our sales to craft brewers coast to coast have grown at a stellar rate the last few years,” said Michele Lex, President of The Perfect Purée. “When I speak to brewers I am reminded of the chefs who use our products – the care in which they craft their beers, their attention to quality ingredients and their passion to elevate their offerings.”

About The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley

Since 1988, The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley has indulged the culinary passions of chefs, mixologists and food enthusiasts with products that provide ultimate fresh fruit flavor without the peeling, dicing and simmering required for making purées from scratch. 

The company’s line-up of fruit purées and specialties features more than 40 premium flavors, ranging from pantry staples such as raspberry, strawberry and banana to the exotic lychee, passion fruit and pink guava. All products contain no artificial additives, preservatives or sweeteners. The fruits are harvested at the peak of season, puréed and packed frozen to maintain optimal freshness, flavor and color no matter the season. As the leading U.S. producer of premium fruit purées, The Perfect Purée of Napa Valley is revered in restaurants, hotels, bars, bakeries and catering kitchens for the just-picked taste and unmatched consistency of its products. 

All flavors can be frozen for up to 24 months from date of manufacture. When thawed, the purées and specialties last 7-10 days in the refrigerator, and blends for 21 days. 

For more information, please visit www.perfectpuree.com.