San Francisco, CA — In celebration of American Craft Beer Week (May 11 – 17, 2015), mainstay downtown San Francisco craft beer haven ThirstyBear Organic Brewery hosts a special public release event for Bulldog British Style IPA and the 10th Anniversary release of the highly coveted Belgian-inspired Golden Hallucination (7.9% ABV) this Thursday, May 14, 2015 from 6 pm – 9 pm. Bulldog IPA and Golden Hallucination will be available on draft at ThirstyBear throughout May 2015; Bulldog IPA will also be available in growlers for a limited time for $30.
ThirstyBear Brewmaster Brenden Dobel comments about the brewing of Bulldog, “We start the process with bespoke floor-malted barley from Norfolk, England. This richly flavored base malt is combined with a touch of crystal malt for a juicy note, and then balanced with Biscuit malt, which provides a drier, toastier element to the mix. We also use two English hop pedigrees not often utilized in America: Challenger and Fuggle. With a higher alpha-acid content of 8%, Challenger provides the bulk of the hop bitterness to harmonize the sweetness of the generous malt bill. Challenger infuses cedar, green tea and sweet floral characteristics. The hop aroma is provided by the most revered and famous English hop Fuggle, which has been grown since 1860. It’s a delicate hop that offers pleasant mint, grass and floral notes. An extra layer of complexity is provided by a robust 7.6% alcohol content, sure to make any beer aficionado to stand up and say cheers!”
ThirstyBear’s Golden Hallucination stems from Dobel’s admiration of a sparkling wine in Napa Valley. Observing the golden color, effervescence, dry mouthfeel, intoxicating aroma and high ABV, Dobel embarked on brewing a craft beer that was as close to a fine champagne as possible. The initial part of the recipe called for the lightest of malts known as Pils Malt, which was sourced from Bamberg, Germany, to provide the pale color. For an effervescent, fruity character, a Belgian yeast was selected for fermentation. Hop varietals that provided spicy, floral notes were then thrown into the kettle. Back in 2006 when brewing the first batch of Golden Hallucination was completed, the best way to describe the beer was a Strong Belgian Golden Ale.
Dobel comments, “As a nod of respect to the Belgian brewers who have a tradition of giving beers less than innocent names such as Mort Subite (Sudden Death), Malheur (Misfortune), Delerium Tremens or even wicked ones such as Duvel (Devil), we decided to name our beer, ‘The Golden Hallucination.’ We were also interested in honoring a famous beer bar in Brussels named ‘The Ultimate Hallucination,’ the Toronado of that city, if you will. That was ten years ago, and for the 2015 recipe, I added a generous dry-hop of Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand to help celebrate the 10th batch. Nelson Sauvin is known for its Sauvignon Blanc-like character, which plays well with the Belgian yeast. The latest batch also exhibits huge pineapple and mango aromas to complement the wine-like notes.”
Come on down to ThirstyBear Organic Brewery on May 14 to taste their latest seasonals, Bulldog British Style IPA and Golden Hallucination!