Beau’s Brewing Company releases a new beer every week this month.
Since 2013, Beau’s Brewing Company has marked Feb. 1 as International Gruit Day. The event plays double-duty as both Beau’s celebration of the ancient technique of brewing gruit ales – and the official launch of its feBREWary series that introduces one brand new beer every week for the month of February.
Beau’s feBREWary series is a month-long winter beer celebration put on across Ontario and Québec by the local craft brewery. Details can be found at www.beaus.ca/febrewary.
In its five years, International Gruit Day has inspired participation from craft breweries as far as The Netherlands and as near as Casselman, Ont., and many places in between. The 2017 edition is no different, garnering its highest rate of participation among craft breweries to date, with several satellite events across Canada and the United States.
To mark the occasion, the Beau’s team will be gathering to raise a glass of the independent craft brewery’s new gruit tripel, Triceratops Tripel, at its retail shop at noon EST on Feb. 1, 2017. More than 35 craft breweries (and counting) from all over will be joining Beau’s via the hashtag #gruitday – which generated 1,350,159 Twitter impressions in 2016 (almost double that of the previous year). The 2017 edition is poised to make the biggest impact yet.
“We are excited to be celebrating the 5th annual International Gruit Day with new and old friends!” says Beau’s co-founder Steve Beauchesne. “Gruits connect us to our past and are a cool way to appreciate history, as well as creating the future of craft beer.”
Brewed specifically for this occasion, Triceratops Tripel features an assortment of organic botanicals including bog myrtle, dried heather flowers and lavender. Like all Beau’s beers, this hazy pale yellow ale is certified organic. The tripel is a relatively new style of beer, originating in the Trappist breweries of Belgium. Triceratops Tripel is spicy, herbal and fruity. At 9.0% alc./vol., its finish lends a lasting warmth.
This new beer will be on draught at more than 250 restaurants and pubs in Ontario and Québec, and sold by the bottle at approximately 75 Québec retailers, as well as at the Vankleek Hill, Ont. brewery, for a limited time starting Feb. 1. A new beer will be released weekly each following Thursday in February.
Breweries participating in International Gruit Day include Brasserie Dieu du Ciel! (Québec), Cambridge Brewing Company (Massachusetts), Fyne Ales (Scotland), Dundulis (Lithuania), Solarc (Los Angeles, CA), The Tap (Indiana), and The Second Wedge (Ontario) and many more.
Gruit enthusiasts (and the curious) are encouraged to visit the newly revamped gruitday.com for a full list of participating breweries, each presenting their unique gruit ales and celebrating in their own way – including Bellwether Brewing, who will be making a collaborative gruit with several other nearby craft breweries for “Gruitfest”, located at the brewery in Spokane, WA, USA; plus many more.
Gruits take inspiration from centuries-old brewing tradition; a time before the Bavarian Purity Act of 1516 that declared that all beer be made solely with barley, hops, and water. In gruit ale, herbs, spices and other botanicals replace a dominant hop character, throwing open the door to experimentation with flavour and beer terroir.
Since the arrival of its first gruit, Bog Water, in 2008, Beau’s has led the charge in raising awareness of the style; and with the release of St. Luke’s Verse for the first gruit day in 2013, fellow craft breweries have rallied around Beau’s in marking Feb. 1 as the official international day of celebration.
Beau’s Brewing Company is a Good Food Fighter. Please support the businesses and organizations that support Good Food Revolution. Find out more about Beau’s at beaus.ca.
