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City Star Brewing Releases Fresh Hop IPA Brewed with Local Hydroponic Hops

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Fresh HopsAugust 11, 2015
Berthoud, Colorado

City Star Brewing’s Hydro-Pony Express HYPA will be one of the first fresh hop beers to be released this season and one of the first commercial brews in the country to employ the use of hydroponic hops. 

On July 29th Colin Clark and his team at Hydro Hop Farms began harvesting fresh hydroponically grown Colorado hops at 5:30am.  After the hops were picked they traveled down the road to City Star Brewing in Berthoud, Colorado where the “wet” fresh hops were added to the brew kettle by 10:30am. While most fresh hop beers won’t be available until mid-September, City Star Brewing will release Hydro-Pony Express HYPA in their tasting room on Saturday, August 22nd. How’s that possible? Hydro Hop Farms owner Colin Clark explains,

“Our early hops are made possible by two factors; climate control and advanced growing techniques.  Being in a greenhouse we can control our ambient temps above and beyond what Mother Nature gives us.  This means that when most hop growers are waiting for that last frost to pass prior to planting we are already weeks into growing.  On top of that we can “spoon-feed” our hops the exact amount of water and nutrients that they require to thrive.  So when putting both of these things together we are able to have a large jump start on our growing season.”

Hydro Hop Farms’ state of the art 5,000 square foot hydroponic greenhouse emphasizes quality hops. They can fine tune specific nutrients to maximize oil content, resulting in a high quality hop cone in terms of total oils. More hop oils means more flavor and more flavor means tastier beer.  The benefits of utilizing these high quality hops is exponential in the practice of fresh hopping a beer. Hydroponic hops require fewer precious resources, are grown without the use of pesticides, and the yield per acre is much higher than hops grown with traditional farming methods.

Fresh hopping is a method of brewing with hops that are harvested fresh and added to the brew kettle in under 24 hours.  “Wet” fresh hops are harvested at the peak of ripeness and are neither kiln dried nor processed.  Fresh hops are unique in the fact that the flavor they impart can be described as grassy, delicate, and multi-dimensional. Brewing with fresh hops is labor intensive but adds a unique flavor profile to the finished beer. Since it’s only possible to brew a beer like this during the fall harvest in the Northern Hemisphere it is well worth the extra effort for a chance to introduce a flavorful, one-of-a-kind seasonal beer.

Over 30 pounds of freshly harvested Columbus and Centennial fresh hops were used in the whirlpool and hop back additions of the 7 barrel brew of Hydro-Pony Express HYPA. An additional 12 pounds of Centennial fresh hops will be added directly to the finished beer to amplify that fresh hop flavor before being poured into your glass. Hydro-Pony Express HYPA will be released in City Star Brewing’s taproom at noon on Saturday, August 22.

City Star Brewing Plans First Bottle Release with Whiskey Barrel Aged Imperial Stout

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outlawFebruary 24th, 2015

Berthoud, CO

Warning: Outlaw on the Loose! Keep a look out for Outlaw, the first in City Star Brewing’s barrel aged series and the first City Star brew available in bottles. Outlaw will be released at the City Star taproom in Berthoud, Colorado on Saturday, March 7th.

Outlaw weighs in at 13.25% alcohol by volume and has spent 1 year “doing time” in Breckenridge Whiskey barrels waiting for the chance to bust out. While incarcerated Outlaw mellowed nicely and includes flavors of dark chocolate, toffee, dark fruit, oak, vanilla, and of course American whiskey.

Outlaw is a rare limited release (only 970 bottles) specialty beer and the first City Star brew available in bottles.   Each 22oz bottle has been sealed in red wax and individually numbered.  Outlaw will be available for purchase exclusively in City Star Brewing’s taproom starting Saturday, March 7th at 12pm. Bottles will be sold for $18 each (plus tax) with a one case (12 bottles) limit per person.

Catch this Outlaw before it escapes again and put it where it belongs… in your belly.

City Star Brewing co-owner and head brewer John Way says, “We’ve been barrel aging beers since year one and we are excited to have Outlaw be our first bottled beer. The imperial stout base beer used for Outlaw is amazing on its own, and then we introduced this big, delicious brew to age in whiskey oak barrels for one year. The barrels impart a very complex dark chocolate and charred oak body with a very bold whiskey aroma that turned this phenomenal beer into something very special that can be aged for years to come.”

Colorado Distillery & Brewery Team Up to Create a Beer for Colorado Flood Victims

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August 18th, 2014
Lyons, CO

As the one year mark of Colorado’s devastating 100 Year Flood draws near, City Star Brewing and Spirit Hound Distillers are teaming up to release a very special collaboration brew: Flood Hound Ale.Last September the St. Vrain River flooded, devastating the small town of Lyons, Colorado, which included Spirit Hound Distillers. Once flood waters receded and the craft distillery was restored their surviving rum barrel was bottled and Mountain Bum Rum was released. Affectionately dubbed “Flood Rum” by locals, Mountain Bum Rum quickly sold out and the empty barrel made its way to Berthoud, Colorado where City Star Brewing filled it with Red Necktar, an American style red ale.

Though Berthoud escaped the majority of the wrath of Colorado’s 100 Year Flood, the City Star crew felt the effects of the natural disaster. One employee was displaced permanently and five others, including brewery owners John and Whitney Way, were displaced from Lyons for six weeks in the flood’s aftermath. The connection between the two small towns of Berthoud and Lyons is strong, and the choice for Spirit Hound to send their “Flood Rum” barrel to City Star was easy to make.

Flood Hound Ale, the collaboration rum barrel aged ale, was named by Lyons residents on a community Facebook page and will be released in Lyons on September 13th during the Cyclists 4 Lyons and Viva Lyons benefit. City Star Brewing will pour four beers at the event, including Flood Hound Ale, alongside Spirit Hound Distillers and their selection of high quality craft spirits.

City Star Brewing co-owner Whitney Way says, “We are honored to collaborate on Flood Hound Ale with our friends at Spirit Hound Distillers, and even more so to give this beer back to the community of Lyons. This surviving rum barrel is a reminder of the devastating flooding, but also symbolic of Lyons’ amazing sense of community and perseverance. We look forward to pouring this beer in Lyons on September 13th in reflection of the past year and also keeping in mind that there is still a lot of hard work to be done in recovery from this disaster.”

Produced by the Town of Lyons, Oskar Blues’ Cand’aid Foundation, Cyclists 4 Lyons and the Office of Governor Hickenlooper the 9/13 event will be held at Bohn Park in Lyons and benefit the flood relief efforts of Lyons Community Foundation and CAN’d Aid Foundation. The event will include bike rides, kids area, breweries, food trucks, a special appearance by Governor John Hickenlooper and live music, including a featured performance by The Infamous Stringdusters.

Small Colorado Brewery Wins GOLD & BRONZE Medals at the Great American Beer Festival

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banditbrownmedalOctober 14, 2013
Berthoud, CO

City Star Brewing, located in the small town of Berthoud, Colorado, claimed gold and bronze medals at the prestigious 2013 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) competition.

City Star Brewing claimed gold and bronze medals at the 2013 Great American Beer Festival ® (GABF) competition. Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest national beer competition that recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States. The top three winners in the competition’s 84 beer-style categories were announced October 12 at the Great American Beer Festival awards ceremony held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.

City Star Brewing of Berthoud, Colorado was awarded a gold medal in the English Brown Ale beer-style category for its Bandit Brown, smooth brown ale with a subtle roasted aroma and flavor, also awarded 2013 gold medals at the US Open Beer Championship, Colorado State Fair and Denver International Beer Championship. Additionally, City Star Brewing was awarded a bronze medal in the Old Ale or Strong Ale beer-style category for its Mule Kick, strong ale brewed with Wildflower honey.

John Way, City Star owner and brew master had this to say about the wins: “We are so excited to bring home both gold and bronze medals. We know we brew delicious beer, but to receive this recognition among such fierce competition is an unbelievable feeling. There are a lot of great veteran and new breweries across the nation, and we are stoked to be among them. This is a very exciting time for City Star Brewing!”

The 2013 GABF competition winners were selected by an international panel of 201 expert judges from the record number of 4,809 entries received from 745 U.S. breweries.

“The Great American Beer Festival brings together the most stellar brewers from around the country,” said Chris Swersey, competition director. “Taking home a medal at this premier beer competition is truly a symbol of brewing excellence.”

For more GABF competition information, including the 2013 winners list and photos, visit GreatAmericanBeerFestival.com.