Ground Breaker Brewing – New Beers & New Labels

It was a big shock when we first heard we were going to have to change our name, but if it had to happen, it couldn’t have happened at a better time. We had just reached a milestone in recipe development, and were in the process of rolling out new recipes for our beers. To celebrate, we were also working on a new look for our labels.

The recipes we started with in 2011 were developed in the garage of our head of R&D, James Neumeister. They were great recipes and they got us started, but with gluten-free brewing still being in its infancy, we know that there are still many things to learn, ingredients to discover, and techniques to develop.

Since opening, we have heard from many people asking that we discontinue the use of certified gluten-free oats in our beers. Finding a suitable way to make good beer without oats was difficult, but never one to give up, James eventually found a solution. Lentils provide us with the proteins we need to maintain a nice head and carbonation without the avenin protein found in oats. The ability to roast lentils to different levels also provides us with another palette of flavors that wasn’t previously available to us.

Fast forward to the present, we are proud to announce that our new recipes are officially in production, and accompanying them are new labels with our new name, Ground Breaker. We’ve grown pretty fond of it, and hopefully so will you.

Pale Ale – The first beer we released and a favorite. It’s very special to us, so we changed little beyond the transition from oats to lentils. The addition of golden Belgian-style candi syrup helps make Pale Ale a consistently great beer.

Dark Ale – With this beer we are taking full advantage of the lentils by roasting them until they look like dark chocolate to bring additional depth to the roasty and chocolaty flavor of Dark Ale.

IPA No. 4 – Following a long series of ingredient studies, we have reworked IPA No. 2 into the new IPA No. 4. While the hops remain unchanged, the ingredient ratios of the sorghum, buckwheat, and lentils are significantly different, resulting in a smoother, less sharp beer that allows the 90 IBUs and heavy Crystal dry-hopping to shine through more than before.

IPA No. 5 – Our latest 60 IBU IPA borrows from our past IPAs and brings the best of what they offered together in one beer. Crystal hops bring classic pine and citrus notes while Santiam hops add hints of tropical and stone fruits. IPA No. 5 is brewed with chestnuts, lentils, and sorghum.

We hope you enjoy drinking them as much as we enjoy making them.