BOULDER, Colo. — With an ever-growing selection of creative brews with innovative combinations of hop varieties, specialty malts, and imaginative flavor adjuncts, the contributions of one very important ingredient are often overlooked by lovers of American craft beer — yeast. The flavors and aromas contributed by yeast are probably best known in regards to authentic Belgian and Belgian-style beers, where fruity esters and/or spicy phenols will take the lead role in defining associated tastes and smells. It was a deep appreciation for these flavors which led the brewers at Avery Brewing Co. to create their unique summer seasonal Karma, a bright Belgian-style Pale Ale with a fruity nose and slightly tart finish. Brewed with the authentic Rochefort yeast strain, Karma takes its cues from the sessionable pale ales historically popular in Belgium. As seasonal beers were the #1 category of American craft beer sales in 2012, Avery plans to accommodate with a 40% increase in production of this iconic summer ale.
Released seasonally since 2005, this year’s Karma left the Avery production team particularly pleased, as it marks their first time to fully propagate the traditional Rochefort yeast strain with the brewery’s Handtmann automated yeast propagation system. In operation for about a year, the top-of-the-line German engineered system was a large expense for a brewery of Avery’s size, and keeps with their philosophy of putting the greatest focus and investment into beer quality. Avery’s Chief Yeast Wrangler Dan Strevey noted, “the system allows us to harvest and use the yeast at its peak condition and hit very precise pitching rates. We saw a higher cell count on this year’s Karma yeast than ever before.” His fellow production team members loudly added that it’s their most delicious brew of Karma yet.
About Avery Brewing Company
Established in 1993, Avery Brewing Company has developed a reputation as being one of the most daring and visionary breweries in the nation. They are the brewers of Avery IPA, The Maharaja Imperial IPA, White Rascal Belgian Wheat Ale, Mephistopheles’ Stout and eighteen other year-round and seasonal beers.