Frieky Friday

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Frieky Friday poster

Here at Odell Brewing Company, we take Halloween pretty seriously. We’re also pretty serious about our beer, and great things happen when the two collide. Enter Frieky Friday.

Friek was first released in 2010, and won a gold medal at Great American Beer Festival in the Wood & Barrel Aged Sour Beer category in 2011. Chalk it up to the extensive brewing process and careful ingredient consideration. First, multiple Kriek Lambic-style ales are fermented with wild yeast and tart cherries, and later moved into oak barrels to age, sour, and take on the cherry flavors. As the beer matures, framboises (raspberries) from Schroyer Family Farms in Fort Collins are handpicked and readied for the beer. The fresh raspberries are added immediately prior to the final blending, and the outcome is a sweet and tart beer that lingers on the tongue.

Friek barrels 7

Friek 1

Friek group

We thought such a special beer deserved its own special party, so we’re throwing a Frieky Friday bash for this year’s brew. Lucky for us, it coincides with the holiday we wait for each year. On Oct. 31, the tap room will release Friek at 11 a.m., along with a few tapped pumpkins filled with Oh My Gourd pumpkin ale and other yet-to-be-revealed pilot brews. Devin James Fry will take the music stage at 4 p.m., and La Piadina Food Truck will have Italian flat bread sandwiches available  for purchase. As usual, costumes are strongly encouraged and the best will be rewarded with tons of OBC gear giveaways. Other spooky surprises may take place throughout the day – it is Frieky Friday, after all!

Costumes 3

Costumes 2

Costumes 1

Jack-Odell-Lantern Tutorial

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Pumpkin blog 1

Halloween is an exceptionally exciting time at the brewery, for many reasons. This year, our Friek will be released on Oct. 31 (Frieky Friday), and will include a tapping party, costume contest, & live music. Why not prepare for the event by carving your own jack-odell-lantern? Click on any of the following templates for a larger version, then print, tape to your pumpkin, and carve away. Happy Halloween!

 

Fort Collins-Style Clam Chowder with Perle White IPA

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Our Perle White IPA is the base of executive chef Ricky Myers’ Fort Collins-Style Clam Chowder at Jax Fish House. The beer, named for the spicy, floral hops with which it is brewed, brightens this rich chowder that’s made with tomato, bacon, mirepoix, potato and of course— lots of fresh clams.

Fort Collins-Style Clam Chowder

Recipe courtesy of Chef Ricky Myers of Jax Fish HousePerle White Chowder

Ingredients

1 cup carrot, medium-diced
1 cup onion, medium-diced
1 cup celery, medium-diced
1 large tomato, medium-diced
1 large Russet potato, medium diced
1/4 lb. bacon
15 oz. can of chopped clams
15 oz. can of pureed tomato
3 cups seafood stock or bouillon
1 tbsp. tomato paste
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. chili flakes
1 tbsp. garlic, minced
1 tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, picked and chopped
1 bottle Odell Brewing Co. Perle White IPA (can substitute Easy Street Wheat)

 

Preparation

1. Render bacon in a medium pot until crispy. Remove bacon (not the fat) from pot and set aside.
2. Add carrot, celery, onion, garlic, and bay leaf to pot. Cook on low heat and caramelize, about 15 minutes.
3. Add tomato paste and thyme and stir to coat rendered vegetables.
4. “Toast” tomato paste for about five minutes, stirring often.
5. Deglaze tomato paste with beer and simmer for about five minutes to reduce beer just a bit.
6. Strain the clams, reserving the liquid.
7. Add the clam juice, lobster stock, diced tomatoes, chili flake, cooked bacon from the first step, and pureed tomato.
8. Bring everything to a simmer for about 30 minutes.
9. Add the potatoes and continue to simmer until potatoes are tender.
10. Turn off heat, add chopped clams, and stir. Garnish with fresh-picked herbs of your choice.

 

2014 GABF highlight: Farm to Table Pavilion

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Allagash 2

This year’s Great American Beer Festival was one for the record books – literally. The 33rd annual festival saw a 14 percent growth in brewery participation, resulting in more than 3,500 offerings and nearly 50,000 festivalgoers, according to the Brewers Association. That’s a lot of beer being poured. And while the Colorado Convention Center played an exceptional host to the 700+ breweries in attendance, it wasn’t long before I yearned for a quiet space to enjoy so many amazing craft brews.

Enter the Farm to Table Pavilion. Created to provide an opportunity to showcase how well craft beer pairs with food, ticket-holders sampled 28 pairings designed and prepared by 14 small and independent breweries and chefs from around the country. And unlike typical GABF interactions with volunteers and miscellaneous brewery employees, each pairing station was accompanied by at least one chef and one brewer. Lines were short, conversations were full and interesting, and the pairings were unreal.

Fort Collins saw its share of participation at the pavilion, represented by The Kitchen, Fort Collins Brewery, and Funkwerks. In fact, our neighbors stole the show with my favorite pairing, hands down: Funkwerks’ Oud Bruin barrel-aged sour with pan-roasted duck breast, Belgian waffle and maple puree, and mission fig verjus with smoked duck prosciutto prepared by chef Alex Seidel of Denver. It was worth the separate ticket price alone, and I may or may not have gone back for seconds and thirds.

Below, some stand outs in this incredible, show stealing event at GABF.

Shrimp chef

Devils Backbone Brewing Company’s Pumpkin Hunter paired with shrimp, garlic, bacon lardons, cherry tomatoes & stone ground grits by chef Frank Bonnano of Russell’s Smokehouse
 
 

Russels

Devils Backbone Brewing Company’s Smokehaus Lager paired with house-bratwurst on grateful bread pretzel roll, somehouse saurkraut, mustard & thousand island by chef Frank Bonanno of Russell’s Smokehouse
 
 
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Nebraska Brewing Company’s Barrel Aged HopAnomaly paired with porchetta slider, pesto & pickled vegetables
 
 

Pumpkin beer

Nebraska Brewing Company’s Wick for Brains Pumpkin Ale paired with onion chip, katsuobushi, yeast, and sour cream by chef Alex Figura of Lower48 Kitchen
 
 

Funkwerks

Funkwerks’ Oud Bruin paired with pan-roasted duck breast, Belgian waffle & maple puree, mission fig verjus with smoked duck prosciutto by chef Alex Seidel of Fruition & Mercantile Dining and Provisions
 
 

Funkwerks 2

Funkwerks’ Nelson Sauvin paired with red curried scallop ceviche, coconut water, caramelized pineapple & toasted macadamia nuts by chef Alex Seidel of Fruition & Mercantile Dining and Provisions
 
 

Allagash

Allagash Brewing Company’s Curieux paired with ginger cake & curieux caramelized apples

Woodcut, through the years

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Woodcut 8 twitter

With Woodcut No. 8 hitting shelves this week, we feel it is appropriate to take a look back at the history of this annual Cellar Series release. Each Woodcut offering is a truly limited edition beer with a unique flavor that comes from select hops, fine malted barley, and the brewers’ careful aging process. Each brew is aged in virgin oak barrels that are retired after the release.

Woodcut No. 8 – a barleywine – pays homage to our traditional English-style brewing roots. The brew has a rich malt base with notes of dried fruit that mingle with hints of toasted coconut, vanilla and turbinado sugar from the new oak. Slightly warming and sweet, the beer boasts delicate crème brûlée character that will evolve and mellow with age.

Below, a list of Woodcut offerings from our past. Consider yourself lucky if you have one in your beer cellar; our Cellar Series releases are limited and rarely re-created!

 

Woodcut No. 1: We began the annual Woodcut endeavor with an oak-aged ale, which had hints of vanilla and dried fruit flavors derived from the medium toast of the oak cask. Woodcut No. 1 was named one of Draft Magazine’s top 25 beers in 2008.

Woodcut No. 2: An oak-aged golden ale, Woodcut No. 2 was crafted with fine specialty malts and hops. The rich toffee-like malt character was balanced by soft tannins. Freshly cut wood and vanilla bean aromas complimented the beer’s smooth finish.

Woodcut No. 3: Our oak-aged crimson ale was a combination of Crystal, Cara, and Munich malts to create a pleasant sweetness and an appealing red color. Hints of caramel, raisin, and toasted almonds were balanced by delicate hop flavors, and the beer’s distinct oak aroma enhanced the finish.

Woodcut No. 4: Woodcut No. 4 was an oak-aged double Märzen-style lager. Originally from Bavaria, Märzens were brewed during the cooler months, and then stored in a lager (cave or cellar) during the summer months. Woodcut No. 4, best described as a double Märzenbier, boasted a malty body with a clean, refined finish. Hints of toasted cedar, vanilla and almond were created by lagering the beer in new American Oak barrels.

Woodcut No. 5: Our oak-aged Belgian Quadruple was brewed with a blend of Belgian ale yeast and our house ale yeast. Woodcut No. 5 presented a rich, spicy dried fruit essence and a deep auburn color. Vanilla from the New American Oak complemented the Special B malt with hints of cherry, raisin and plum on the palate.

Woodcut No. 6: Our brewers included both Mosaic and another yet-to-be-named experimental hop variety in the kettle and Hopback for Woodcut No. 6, an American ale. The beer was dry hopped with 100% Mosaic hops, and transferred to virgin American oak barrels where it aged for several months. The final blend married the unique and complex tropical fruit sweetness of the Mosaic hop with the vanilla and toasted oak from the new barrels.

Woodcut No. 7: We combined a hearty portion of pale, roasted and chocolate malts for a strong backbone and a deep thick body in Woodcut No. 7, a Russian Imperial Stout.