Category: Beers

Brewed to coincide with the harvest of Centennial hops, Deep Dive is a draft only Smokestack Series beer that will begin being delivered in the Greater Kansas City Area starting on Monday, October 5th. Regions that normally see Smokestack Series Limited Release drafts should expect to see Deep Dive, but it's important to note that we do not have access to our distributors' delivery schedules and will be unable to confirm when the beer is available near you.

Most beers we brew are hopped using pelletized hops. The pellets are formed from hop cones that have been picked, kilned and cooled. The kilning process typically reduces the moisture content of the hop cone from 70% to 10-12%. Hops that have not undergone this kilning or drying process that are shipped straight to breweries for use (typically) within 36 hours are referred to as wet hops. We received the wet Centennial hops and immediately incorporated them into Deep Dive on our brewhouse, adding them to the wort near the end of the boil to extract oils to deliver huge flavor and aroma while also adding a slight grassy/green character.

[caption id="attachment_9470" align="aligncenter" width="250"] Brewer Cris adds Centennial hops at the end of the boil.[/caption]

The malt base for Deep Dive is incredibly simple, composed solely of our two row pale malt, to allow maximum opportunity for the Centennial hops to shine. In addition to the wet hops added on the hot side (during brewing), Deep Dive is also dry-hopped with wet Centennial hops. Dry-hopping with wet hops sounds contradictory, but dry-hopping refers to the process of adding hops to the beer after the brewhouse, typically near the end of fermentation. Hopping while the beer is cold results in an extraction of beautiful aroma/flavor oils while not adding additional bitterness to the beer.

With bright aromas of floral and citrus, Deep Dive opens with a subtle grassy/green flavor that transitions into bright, peppery citrus character followed by crisp bready/crackery malt. At 8.5 ABV and 60 IBUs, Deep Dive Wet Hopped Ale is our ode to the beauty of Centennial Hops.

- Jeremy Danner, Ambassador Brewer