alchemist beer west coast limited distribution

#Alchemist beer west coast limited distribution series

“More importantly, it had to meet the expectations of our customers. “We expected to do a couple of test batches, but the beer had to meet my expectations,” he says. With a recipe for Sip of Sunshine in hand, Sean wanted to test production at Two Roads before going to market. A little bit more dangerously drinkable at 8%.” “It’s a little bit different recipe, slightly different hop profile. Untappd check-ins and comments in online forums compare Sip “to when it was brewed in Vermont.” Although he acknowledges that the two beers share DNA, Sean says Sip of Sunshine has only ever been brewed at Two Roads. There is often confusion over Sip of Sunshine’s likeness to Double Sunshine. That’s how I developed Double Sunshine, through the use of those hops-and that was by far the most sought-after beer I made.” It was the beginning of this shift to a more fruit-forward profile, with hops like Citra and Mosaic. “I wanted to make a beer that was like Double Sunshine, but not try to replicate it exactly. “It's a new facility, new place, new story, so let’s make a new beer,” Sean says of the decision. “One thing Sean was adamant about from the beginning was that he would differentiate what we brewed for him from what he produced at his Vermont brewery,” Markowski says. Still, a pivotal question remained: what would they brew? Sean and Karen bounced ideas off each other, carefully deliberating the recipe. Equally attractive to Sean was the soft, low-mineral profile of the water in Stratford, Connecticut, which was almost identical to the water Sean had been brewing with, and which produced his desired flavor profile. To Sean, Two Roads checked all the boxes: it offered Lawson’s the freedom to use its own processes and ingredients, brand-new brewing equipment, and the oversight of a talented brewmaster. After all, these are their products, not ours.” We prefer that our customers direct us on exactly how they want us to produce their products. “It was soon evident that Sean was really particular about each aspect of the process, and that he would be directly involved at every turn.

#Alchemist beer west coast limited distribution series

“We had a series of discussions about the process and how we handle the logistics of brewing for other people,” Markowski remembers. In addition to producing its own beer, Two Roads’ business model included contract brewing specifically for craft brewers (a contrast to other businesses that pursue contract brewing primarily to absorb their excess capacity).

Sean initiated a conversation with Phil Markowski, Two Roads Brewing Company’s master brewer and co-founder, through mutual friend Paul Sayler, of Zero Gravity Craft Brewery in Burlington. “I spent a lot of time very methodically thinking this through, researching and contemplating what we’re going to do,” he says. In 2013, as Sean was contemplating the brewery’s next step, contract brewing was just starting to gain traction. From Barons to Barrels with Captain Pabst.Message in a Bottle with Brewery Ommegang.Beer is Labor with East Brother Beer Co.Let Go or Get Dragged by Jerard Fagerberg.Ferments at Low Temps by Stephanie Byce.