DENVER, CO — The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project® took home its first major-competition hardware this month with the World Beer Cup 2018 Silver Award in Experimental Beer for its Smoked Hickory Peach Wee Heavy. The brewery’s award comes within its first year of existence, opening on May 20, 2017.
“I’m thrilled for everyone at Intrepid Sojourner, but I’m especially thrilled for Andrew [Moore],” co-founder Ben Gettinger said of his business partner. “He knows more about beer and food than I know about anything. He has a special talent for using cuisine to complement and enhance the flavors already inherent in solid beer styles, really pushing the boundaries of how beer can taste yet making it more accessible.”
Inspired by fusing the Indiana roots and affinity for all things Colorado of the co-founders, the wee heavy-style brew incorporates 30 lbs. of shagbark hickory bark from the forests of southern Indiana and 100 lbs. of peaches from the Colorado Palisade hills, fusing the caramel and marshmallow notes of roasted hickory bark with the sweet & smoky flavor of roasted and smoked peaches. Partially caramelized by hot stones, the adjuncts are then roasted together and blended.
Moore, who moved to Colorado in 2010 to work on a PhD in Classical archaeology at University of Colorado Boulder, adopted homebrewing as a hobby and became interested in using the flavors from cuisine in Turkey, Jordan, and Greece, where he was on archaeological digs, in his recipes. By opening his own brewery, he is able to expand that influence to tastes from all over the world.
The Silver Award comes just as Intrepid Sojourner celebrates its first anniversary. The Smoked Hickory Peach Wee Heavy was one of five beers the brewery will release in bottles in its taproom at 925 W 8th Ave. in Denver this week, its first set of bottle release. Monday is the Barrel Aged Imperial Turkish Coffee Stout; Tuesday, the Smoked Peach Hickory Wee Heavy; Wednesday, the Imperial Basil IPA; Thursday, the Belgian Quad; and Friday, the Imperial Sahti.
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