Tortuga Bay IPA - First Taste Notes

First of all, I want to once again thank Jason Howard from Howard Brewing for letting us brew in his new facility. If you get a chance to visit the Howard Brewing facility in Lenoir, I would highly recommend it.

He literally built it by himself. Today, he was doing his own plumbing for the keg washer. Everytime I visit, he is making another improvement or more construction -- by himself. It's kind of amazing! I am constantly in awe with him, and what he has been able to do by himself.

Okay, for the tasting notes on Tortuga Bay. I don't want to paraphrase Samuel L. Jackson, but I'm sure he would drop a few F-Bombs on how hoppy Tortuga Bay is. While the original thought was making a sessionable IPA, Tortuga Bay is shaping up to be a "Hop Tongue Tingler." It is also turning out to be a bit more than 6%. Due to the brewhouse efficiency (which was previously unknown), it might come in at closer to 6.3 to 6.5% ABV.

While Jason from Howard Brewing was a little concerned that he had missed his mark, I told him to, "Let it ride!" I have never known a craft beer customer that wanted a lower ABV.

Since Tortuga Bay will be unfiltered, it pours (right now) a hazy light green and faint orange. With close to 3 lbs. of hops per barrel, you can actually see the hops floating around in it. It has a huge nose! Monster. Seriously, big juicy hops. It's full-bodied, flavorful, but not sweet. It stays dry. The number of malts included keep it complex and tasty from start to finish. Crisp hops up front, and mellow drinkable malts in the middle, finishing dry and tongue tinglingly. We put the money into the hops, and you'll get your money's worth!

We have a few more days in the fermentation process, but we're hoping that it finishes as expected. Hang in there. We're close! 

Spoke with Riverbend Malt House Today

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On my last trip up to Hickory, NC, to check out the brewery's construction, Alexa, Mark and I popped into Olde Hickory Brewery to say, "Hey!" again to our new neighbors there. During the conversation, Steven Lyerly mentioned that a local hop farmer in the area had some fresh Cascade hops that we could use. The best part: We'd have to go out there and pick them ourselves. What?! How awesome is that? Fresh picked hops. Local ingredients. Local brew. Where do we sign up?

As we were driving up to Howard Brewing in Lenoir, NC, to check on Jason Howard's construction progress, we got to talking in the car about doing our best as a company to purchase local ingredients to help the local economy. Lots of breweries talk about being "Local," but are they actually purchasing local ingredients? Or, is it just their address that makes them local?

In that vein, I started searching for local maltsters. And, lo and behold, I found Riverbend Malt House. At the risk of admitting being late to a great party, Brent Manning of Riverbend told me that there were several North Carolina breweries that were currently purchasing their malts. Among them, Pisgah Brewing Company, Fullsteam Brewing Company, Weeping Radish Brewing Company, Mystery Brewing Company, Mother Earth Brewing, Natty Greene's, and a couple more. So, our hats off to these great breweries for not only brewing locally, but purchasing locally. 

Going forward, I wanted to let our customers know that we are going to do our best to purchase local ingredients to make great LOCAL beers. After speaking with Brent Manning from Riverbend, I feel confident that they will do their best to provide us in the future with locally grown and produced malts that will set Skull Coast beers apart from the rest.

To read more about other local ingredient producers, go to Wort & Yeast's Report "Bringing It Home"   

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