New Belgium / Wicked Weed Brett IPA Coming 3/8

Wicked Weed owners and brothers, Luke and Walt Dickinson, jumped at the opportunity to collaborate with New Belgium and brewer, Matty Gilliland after meeting an a beer dinner hosted at Wicked Weed’s brewpub.

Last September 2013, the Dickinson’s traveled to Fort Collins to brew a 15 barrel batch of Brettanomyces IPA on New Belgium’s pilot system. Wicked Weed brought spelt from Asheville local Riverbend Malt House and New Belgium contributed their Brettanomyces strain as well as a developmental hop variety.

“Brewing at New Belgium was probably one of the best experiences I’ve had making beer,” said Luke Dickinson.

The Colorado tapping and first release of the Brett IPA took place in Denver last fall – when the beer was about a month and a half old – during the 2013 Great American Beer Fest.

“This is a terrifically complex beer with a host of various flavors simmering at threshold level,” said Gilliland, after his first tasting of the beer in Denver, “One can pick up notes of different fruits, herbs and even a black currant flavor. The bretta has a candied pineapple thing going on now, but will likely change over time.”

Now, six months later, the beer is slated to be tapped March 8th on the east coast. Since the Brettanomyces will continue to develop and change over time, Walt is anticipating the beer release.

“I am super excited to taste the beer now, six months after the brett has rested because it will be the funky beer we had envisioned when we brewed it. It was a big, chewy, hoppy brett when we tapped it in Denver and now it will be a softer, more developed brett complexity,” Walt stated.

New Belgium is currently building their East Coast brewery in Asheville, and is scheduled to be brewing beer by the end of 2015.
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