Mybeerbuzz .com Highlights Deschutes / Patagonia Provisions Kernza Lager & Non-Alcoholic Kernza (Review)

Back in the late 1970’s, I started learning how to ski, and as part of that journey, I not only discovered how to ski, but I also discovered what would become my favorite outdoor clothing brand, Patagonia. About 15-years later (when I was old enough to legally drink), I also discovered a brewery that has also become one of my favorites, Deschutes.

So naturally I was excited to see a series of new collaboration beers coming from Deschutes and Patagonia Provisions. The beers feature a “new” ancient grain called Kernza, and this grain hold tremendous promise as a more environmentally-friendly and more sustainable way to produce food and beer. 

As Deschutes and Patagonia put it, “"We are proud to drive responsible change within the beer industry, and we’re thankful to the farmers, suppliers, and retailers who are on this journey with us,” said Peter Skrbek, CEO, Deschutes Brewery. “Their trust in Deschutes and Patagonia Provisions allows us the opportunity to source and scale organic and regenerative ingredients for our beers. We are also proud to be able to offer a full-fidelity non-alcoholic option brewed with Kernza. This will be the first organic non-alcoholic beer broadly available in the United States. After more than five years of research and development into non-alcoholic technologies we recently made a significant investment to install Sustainable Beverage Technologies’ patented BrewVo system. We are thrilled to launch non-alcoholic Kernza® Golden Brew and bring awareness of organic and regenerative organic agriculture to the non-alcoholic beer fan.”

“We sought to make radically responsible beer that delivers on our values with exceptional quality and approachable taste, brewed with organic and regenerative ingredients, and widely distributed across the US,” said Paul Lightfoot, General Manager of Patagonia Provisions. “There are thousands of craft breweries making amazing nationally available beers, but less than 1% of craft breweries make certified organic beer. Deschutes Brewery is one of them. In addition to being a world-class, award-winning independent brewery that prioritizes outdoor recreation, the community, and the environment, we believe Deschutes can bring organic beer mainstream. Our shared goal is to make damn good beers – and inspire more breweries to adopt organic and Regenerative Organic Certified® ingredients.”

Today we’ll be sampling Kernza Lager and Non-Alcoholic Kernza and of course I can’t wait to try them, so off we go…

Deschutes Kernza Lager

Brewery Description: 

These premium beers are bright, crisp and wildly drinkable. They are brewed with certified organic Kernza (a soil-saving, carbon-capturing perennial grain), certified organic Helios and
Adeena hops, certified organic malted 2-row barley, and Regenerative Organic Certified® rye. The ingredients for both brews are grown in ways that improve soil health, minimize erosion, preserve biodiversity, and protect waterways. In other words, they are radically responsible. Light and easy-drinking, Kernza® Lager is 4.7% ABV and Non-Alcoholic Kernza® Golden Brew is less than 0.5% ABV. Deschutes brews all its non-alcs in-house using Sustainable Beverage Technologies’ (SBT) patented BrewVo® technology in combination with Deschutes’ proprietary brewing methods. This groundbreaking technology allows Deschutes to gently remove alcohol from the beer, while retaining all the flavors, aromas, mouthfeel, body and head retention the brewery’s award-winning beers are known for.

ABV:  4.7%
Style: Lager
Packaging:  12oz cans
Appearance:  Clear golden
Aroma:  Biscuit & caramel
Mouthfeel:   Light
Taste:   Mild toffee, caramel and biscuit
Overall: I wasn’t sure what to expect from Kernza Lager, but what I found was a really drinkable lager that just happens to be organic and just happens to use Kernza rather than barley. I was expecting it to be radically different or odd tasting, but it isn’t. The beer tastes exactly as you’d expect it to and overall I found it to be a really enjoyable, light bodied lager with just the right touch of hops. Overall I thought this was a really good beer and a beer that makes me excited for the future of more sustainable grains in our beverages.

Deschutes Non-Alcoholic Kernza

Brewery Description: 

These premium beers are bright, crisp and wildly drinkable. They are brewed with certified organic Kernza (a soil-saving, carbon-capturing perennial grain), certified organic Helios and
Adeena hops, certified organic malted 2-row barley, and Regenerative Organic Certified® rye. The ingredients for both brews are grown in ways that improve soil health, minimize erosion, preserve biodiversity, and protect waterways. In other words, they are radically responsible. Light and easy-drinking, Kernza® Lager is 4.7% ABV and Non-Alcoholic Kernza® Golden Brew is less than 0.5% ABV. Deschutes brews all its non-alcs in-house using Sustainable Beverage Technologies’ (SBT) patented BrewVo® technology in combination with Deschutes’ proprietary brewing methods. This groundbreaking technology allows Deschutes to gently remove alcohol from the beer, while retaining all the flavors, aromas, mouthfeel, body and head retention the brewery’s award-winning beers are known for.

ABV:  <0.5%-AbV
Style: Non-Alcoholic Lager
Packaging:  12oz cans
Appearance:  Crystal clear straw
Aroma:  Biscuit malt & grains
Mouthfeel:   Light
Taste:   Biscuit, bread & light hop spice
Overall: I’m not a huge fan of many of the NA beers on the market, but this Deschutes / Patagonia Provisions NA beer gives me hope. The beer is crisp, light and really drinkable and I quickly found that the beer doesn’t drink like an NA beer and more importantly, it has little difference compared to a typical barley-based NA beer. Overall I found Non-Alcoholic Kernza to be one of my favorite NA beers and one I think I would actually buy.

Both beers will available nationwide in 6-pack 12 oz. cans starting September 4 at chain retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Sprouts Farmers Market, Kroger, Total Wine & More,
Fred Meyer, Raleys, Frys, King Soopers, QFC, Smiths, select Albertsons and Safeway stores and independent retailers that can be found using the beer finder at www.DeschutesBrewery.com.

Be sure to get out there and try both Kernza beers for yourself…and when you do try then, be sure to let us know what YOU think.  zzubreebym