Brew Q&A: Trellis Garden Ale

On June 21 Odell Brewing Co. will celebrate the first weekend of summer with the release of its newest Cellar Series beer, Trellis Garden Ale. Trellis is brewed with flowers and herbs from our neighbors at The Gardens on Spring Creek, and one dollar from each bottle sold will benefit their efforts.

We sat down with Pilot System Manager Brent Cordle to taste his latest creation and talk about the inspiration behind the brew.

Q: Walk me through the creative process when first imagining Trellis.

A: I think we just wanted to keep it local. We like working with local ingredients, and [The Gardens on Spring Creek] has been really cool to work with. We’ve done a couple of beer dinners with them, and it was kind of cool to reach out to them and see if we could help fund some of their growing. And it was a cool idea to use their ingredients in a beer.

Q: Since your initial meeting with The Gardens, how has Trellis transformed and become the final product we’ll all enjoy?

A: When I envisioned this beer I thought of it being very floral and herbal because we were using actual flowers from The Gardens. Originally, they were thinking it would be a golden ale—very light, fresh and summery, but I just felt like it needed a little bit more hop character to blend in with the flowers and herbs that we were using. I ended up doing a double pale ale—not quite as bitter as an IPA, but still a lot of hops in there—to blend in with and balance those flowers and herbs.

Q: How did you decide on the ingredients?

A: We went over to [The Gardens] closer to harvest to talk about what would be plentiful and available on a larger scale. They harvested a lot of the flowers and herbs for us, and dried the coriander, some cilantro and some rose petals. We also got pineapple mint from them, which is really cool stuff. They gave us everything they could and we took that and used it in the brew.

Q: What do you taste when drinking this beer?

A: I get a lot of herbs. The rose petals and lavender definitely come through. Nothing is overpowering, which is nice because the goal was not to make potpourri in a glass. It’s kind of a crazy beer to use that many flowers and herbs, but I think it’s very nice. Everything’s there.

Q: We’ve collaborated with The Gardens several times in the past. Why does the brewery continue to build that relationship?  

A: Working with unique ingredients in a brew is pretty fun. To be able to combine those and make it blend together and taste good—and not like a candle or a bar of soap—was challenging, but it was a lot of fun. The Gardens really appreciates it, so just being able to see the excitement from them was a lot of fun for us.

Want to learn more about your favorite Odell beer? E-mail [email protected] for a Brew Q & A request!