Idaho Collaboration Beer for American Craft Beer Week

Payette Brewing was thrilled when four other breweries decided to join the collaboration and make an Idaho inspired beer. The breweries participating are Crooked Fence, Highlands Hollow, Payette, Sawtooth and Salmon River. It was amazing to see brewers take time out of their busy schedules to not only brew the beer, but also to travel more than 100 miles to participate. Paul Holle of Sawtooth Brewery in Ketchum, ID, said it was great to be a part of the brew because opportunities like this don’t come up very often.

The groundwork for Idaho Sage Pale ale was laid through several brainstorming sessions, multiple emails and even a few Skype sessions. The brewers were inspired by their great state and decided that using sage in a brew would be very “Idaho”. The pale ale was brewed April 28th at Payette Brewing with all brewers contributing various ingredients including a different variety of hop from each one. The pale ale was dry hopped using both fresh and dried sage resulting in subtle but distinctive aromas and flavors backed by earthy hops notes.

It was wonderful to witness the brewers working together on one beer. There were no egos on brew day; it was just fun to be able to hang out, ask questions and learn from each other. This is very indicative of the great industry we all are fortunate to work in. Our hope is that the Idaho brewing community will continue to work together on awesome projects and lend a hand to each other to help build a better craft beer community. Establishing the Idaho brewers’ guild is an integral part of keeping the community connected and we hope the funds raised can be used to build a solid foundation for the organization.

The Idaho Sage Pale ale will be available at each of the participating breweries plus a few other locations. Please call the local participating brewery in your area to find out where you can grab a pint.