Cape May, NJ — Cape May Brewing Company is pleased to announce the release of another enticing brew: Mooncusser Pilsner. Tapping today, June 2, this adventurous pilsner will be available in the Tasting Room at 1288 Hornet Road in Cape May and at better bars and restaurants in the area.
The intriguing name originates with land-based pirates who would ransack a nearby lighthouse, disabling the beacon. The mooncussers would set a fire inland, confusing the sailors into believing that the shoreline was much farther than it was, inducing a shipwreck. After subduing any survivors, the pirates would pillage the vessel for booty. However, on well-lit nights, their plans were foiled, leaving them to curse the moon.
Cape May Brewing Company’s Mooncusser Pils is a traditional Czech-style pilsner in the vein of Pilsner Urquell, Staropramen, and Paulaner. While most American pilsners still lean toward the hoppy side of things, Mooncusser is more balanced between the hops and the malt. You immediately sense the crisp, clean maltiness combined with a hint of sweetness, then a bite of Noble hop bitterness comes to meet it. The malt and the hops dance along your taste buds well after you’re done, leaving a lovely, dry finish that lasts and lasts.
“Good pilsners are in short supply, but when done well they are excellent beers,” says Director of Brewing Operations Jimmy Valm.
The brewers at CMBC love experimental beers along the lines of barrel-aged sours and Imperial IPAs. “We can let our craziness out a little bit with those beers,” Valm admits, “but they’re not for everyone. Pilsners are a great way to get more people away from the faceless, massive corporate beers and into great tasting, locally-brewed craft beer. So part of this beer is to not just show craft beer drinkers that this oft-forgotten style can be done in fantastic fashion, but also to show even more people how their usual beers can be better than they imagined when they’re produced locally.”
Visitors to the brewery in Cape May can taste Mooncusser Pils on tap June 2, as well as some twenty other offerings. In addition, visitors will experience CMBC’s new interactive self-guided tour, designed in a distinctively Southern Shore style by artist David Macomber.
The brewery and tasting room are currently in their summer hours, open 11am to 9pm daily, serving tours, tastings, and growler fills. For more information, visit capemaybrewery.com or call (609) 849-9933.
About Cape May Brewing Company: Once upon a time, twenty-something Ryan Krill earned a six-figure salary working in finance and real estate development in Manhattan, while his college roommate, Chris Henke, designed satellites. During a summer weekend at the Jersey shore, they brewed a batch of beer with Ryan’s dad that wasn’t half bad. “Should we open a brewery?” Ryan asked, only half-serious. But, by the following year, the three guys had secured a space at Cape May Airport where they concocted a makeshift brew system and honed their beer-making skills. In 2011, they started with one client. Today, there are hundred of accounts in Jersey and Pennsylvania proudly serving the guys’ award-winning recipes. And CMBC’s fearless leaders have never looked back.
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