RAW POWER

There were ancient beer styles that used the available water at whatever temperature it was currently, which resulting in a turbid mash of the grains that quickly soured. More modern brewing techniques have always included a boiling phase when hops were added and the resulting beer was usually clean and bitter. The alpha acids in the hops created bitterness to balance the malt but the bittering process was most effective during the boil. Other protein reactions occurred during the boil causing compounds that enhanced fullness on the palate dropping out of solution. Traditionalists simply kept adding hops for flavor and aroma however the beer became more bitter than intended with the additional hop load. A small group of enthusiasts of Hazy IPA were writing about another technique (a Third Path) to boost the Tropical aroma and flavor while maintaining a fluffy mouthfeel. These enthusiasts, mainly in Europe, wrote about brewing a hazy IPA without boiling. One of our brewers (Chris) decided to try it. We are always pursuing creative ideas, and as far as we know, we are the first brewery in Georgia to brew what is being called, a “Raw Beer”. We take the sweet liquid we extract from the mashed grains and warm it enough to kill the souring organisms, however the temperature is kept well below boiling, so only a minimal amount of bitterness is extracted. An added bonus is that long chain proteins that drop out during boiling remain in the beer to make it even more full and hazy. We used a healthy amount of tropical hops—Nelson Sauvin, Galaxy and Simcoe. The result is a very fruity combination of Guava, citrus and even a small amount of white grape. It’s so fluffy, you can even taste the haze (insert eye roll)…