“It’s taking the expectations and direction of beer in completely new ways,” he says. Perhaps the most important thing the smoothie sour is doing is pushing boundaries within beer making. They eventually made a birthday cake version, too, one Russo says was pretty wild and very polarizing. It was Oakshire’s first stab at a cheesecake beer, made with mango puree, raspberry puree, and graham cracker. Russo is fond of that volatile beer that re-fermented in the can, as he says it was his wildest creation yet. Now, Russo and his team pasteurize all the smoothie sours, just to be safe. It’s definitely always a wild ride, but once you get it right with any of the weird ingredients, then the next time you go to do it it ends up being a piece of cake - sometimes literally.”Ī hiccup in one particular beer he made earlier this year resulted in some exploding cans. So you end up going through some trial and error. “There are no instructions on the internet on how to add 200 pounds of no-bake cheesecake mix to a beer. The processing of weird ingredients for the first time is always a challenge as well,” Russo admits. And, because much of this is new, there’s no real reference point. There’s a balancing act, too, with so many ingredients involved. Fermenting at such a high gravity with more acidity can be tough on yeast. Making a smoothie sour can be quite challenging. “I think that chase and drive to create those experiences are the most intriguing part of the style and why we make them.” “You can get lost in the creation and drinking experience that you create, not just for yourself but for every person that tries it,” he says. Soon, you can end up trying to recreate a favorite dish or dessert from your past. “And the desire to use real ingredients to create flavors that are genuine and noticeable as such, as opposed to using flavorings.” “I think it all has to do with the culinary aspect of the beers,” he says. He’s drawn to the epicurean wormhole you can really dive into when making and drinking this kind of beer. Dan Russo is Director of Brewing Operations at the Eugene brewery. In short, when Drekker is short on brewing supplies, what it adds to the grocery list is not very common. The Coconut Key Lime Pie beer blends lime, coconut, banana, granola, lactose, cream cheese, and vanilla. The brewery makes them in all shapes and sizes, from pineapple, guava, and passionfruit to a sour that’s designed to taste like a PB&J. Drekker Brewing out of Fargo has become an ambassador of the style. They tend to come in bright colors, looking more like something the kids in Hook ate than a beer. The latest on board the train of translucent beers is the smoothie sour. In fact, it’s what many of us wanted most. A few years later, sparked by the haze craze in both beer and wine (looking at you, unfiltered natural wine), we no longer feared a cloudy beverage. Back then, palate-stretching beers like goses and kettle sours started to grow in popularity. It’s the continuation of an arc that began about a decade ago. But the trending brew is being fully embraced by some adventurous producers, from Eugene, Oregon to Fargo, North Dakota. No, the smoothie sour is not yet as popular as the pilsner or hazy IPA and it almost surely never will be. Plus, from what we’ve tasted so far, they tend to be pretty delicious. And while it sounds a little absurd on the surface, how we got here actually makes a lot of sense. Thick and driven by adjuncts like lactose and fresh berries, it’s a beer that functions a lot like, well, a smoothie. Not necessarily for the craft beer purist, the smoothie sour is pretty much like it sounds. Today, we greet the smoothie sour with open and eager arms.
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