Trillium Collaborates on Sierra Nevada Beer Camp Brew and Boston Festival

The Beer Camp Northeast/Mid-Atlantic team is (L to R) Brian Grossman, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.; Carol Stoudt, Stoudts Brewing Co.; Esther Tetreault, Trillium Brewing Co.; JC Tetreault, Trillium Brewing Co.; Scott Jennings, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.; Sean Lawson, Lawson’s Finest Liquids; Jason Oliver, Devils Backbone Brewing Co.; Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery; and Ken Grossman, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. / Photo provided

UPDATE, February 25: Tickets for the Boston Beer Camp—and the other five city fests—are now on sale. Eighty Northeast brewers and counting will descend on City Hall Plaza June 18, from 1-5 p.m. So far, New York’s Other Half Brewing, Wicked Weed of Asheville, N.C.; Medusa Brewing Company out of Hudson, many others will join the likes of Trillium, Lawson’s Finest Liquids, and the rest of the team behind the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic Beer Camp brew.

More details about that collaboration have also been released: The 5.6% ABV Pat-Rye-Ot pale ale uses Delaware and Vermont apple cider, in addition to Trillium’s contribution of Danko Rye from Valley Malt. Apples and rye are among the first ingredients used by American brewers, so the recipe pays homage to the creators’ hailing from the 13 original colonies. It’s hopped with American grown cones, too, “hallmarks of our modern craft beer ‘revolution.'”

PREVIOUSLY:

It’s not every day that Dogfish Head Craft Brewed Ales founder and beer pioneer Sam Calagione asks you to join a brewer super group, says Trillium’s Esther Tetreault. So, even if you’re in the final throes of a huge expansion of your wildly popular, limited release brand, “how could we say no?” she says. 

Calagione was reaching out on behalf of Sierra Nevada. For the second year in a row, the formidable California brewery is planning Beer Camp Across America, a celebration of craft brewing with limited-edition, collaboration brews and a multi-location brew fest.

This year’s Beer Camp is a little different than the inaugural venture, which saw a mixed 12-pack featuring partnerships between Sierra Nevada and a dozen different breweries. The 2016 box of brews will include two bottles of six beers, representing different regions across the United States. A six-stop brew fest will hit Boston on June 18.

Thirty breweries contributed to the 2016 Beer Camp mix pack. Trillium founders Esther and JC Tetreault joined Calagione, along with Sierra Nevada brewers Ken and Brian Grossman; Sean Lawson, maker of Lawson’s Finest Liquids in Vermont; Carol Stoudt, pioneering brewmaster of Stoudts Brewing Co. in Pennsylvania; and Jason Oliver of Devils Backbone Brewing Co. in Roseland, Virginia, in representing the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. Following a couple pilot batches, the ale will be brewed this spring at Sierra Nevada’s Asheville, N.C. facility.

Since the team’s five brewers all hail from one of the 13 Original Colonies, they decided to create a Colonial-inspired pale ale. Sierra Nevada is keeping details of the brew “close to the chest” for now, spokesperson Ryan Arnold said, but it’s “old-meets-new.” (See update.)

Each brewer brought a particular ingredient to the kettle. Trillium’s contribution is Danko Rye, a grain grown at Valley Malt in Hadley that brings subtly balanced flavor. “It’s one we have really enjoyed using in our Trillium beers, including Valley Rye, a one-off, and a range of our wild and native fermented beers,” Tetreault said.

“It really has been a true collaboration in terms of concept, style, and recipe design,” she continued. “You put six brewers in a room together and you’re going to get a wide variety of things, but it was a really fun process and we are all happy with the recipe and the type of beer we’re making.”

The Beer Camp 12-pack is slated for a May release, and all of the regional brews will have limited draft availability nationwide, too, Arnold said. Tickets for the beer festivals, which are open to all breweries, will go on sale late in February. Trillium will definitely be pouring at the Boston festival (location TBD), Tetreault said.

In other Massachusetts beer news, BeerAdvocate has announced the first-ever Massachusetts Beer Week. The statewide celebration will feature educational events, tours, tastings, beer dinners, parties, and more from November 4-13.