Page 22 - Beverage Master_OctNov 2021

Brewery & Distillery
brewpub known for offering whiskey beer pairings,
launched Brewstillery in 2014 as a way of showcas-
ing the range of beer and spirit pairings possible
among Pacific Northwest brewers and distillers.
Traditionally, this festival WAS held in February
to commemorate the month when StormBreaker
launched. This event featured 20 brewers and dis-
tillers paired together along live music and special
food offerings with proceeds going to support the
local charity Dollar for Portland. (While the festival
was on hold due to Covid, StormBreaker hopes to
launch the festival again in 2022.)
When Sebastian Dejens, owner, Stone Barn
Brandyworks in Portland, OR was invited to the
first Brewstillery, he found this event represented a
wonderful opportunity to pair up with some brew-
ers for some creativity and discovery. Three years
into this festival, he told StormBreaker founders
20 October - November 2021 BEVERAGE MASTER
BM101121 Main Pages.indd 20
Dan Malech and Rob Lutz that he would buy mash
from them if they came up with a window of oppor-
tunity.
For a few days the entire brewing capacity focused
on producing roughly 150 gallons of beer. Dejens
picked up this beer using a 275-gallon tote placed
on the back of his truck that he filled from the tank.
Malech describes their brewing process for this par-
ticular beer. “We took our Red and bumped up the
grain bill and the kettle hop additions for an intense
hoppiness, complemented by a spicy dryness from
the rye, but balanced nicely by malty caramel fla-
vors. After fermentation we got hop crazy and dry
hopped this beer with 3 lbs/bbl for an explosion of
tropical fruit and a citrus nose.” Malech and Lutz
named this beer “Good Not Great” (ABV: 8% IBU:
76) which went on to receive a gold medal in the
2020 World Beer Cup Awards in the Imperial Red
Ale category.
In 2020, Dejens released his first whiskey made
from this beer. The name of this 92-proof whiskey
Barnstormer is a mashup of the names Stone Barn
and StormBreaker, with the whimsical label pro-
duced by StormBreaker’s label designer. This whis-
key had a malty brown sugar sweetness with a nutty
finish. Since this initial venture, Dejens continued to
collaborate with StormBreaker each year on produc-
ing a barrel of whiskey using StormBreaker’s beer.
In 2020, Dejens made two barrels as Stormbreaker
had increased their barrel capacity. “There needs to
be an element of space in the process. You’re mak-
ing this for three to five years down the road, and
you’re just hoping it’s all going to turn out,” Dejens
reflected.
Joshua M. Bernstein, a Brooklyn-based beer, spir-
its, food and travel journalist, parses the similar-
ity between beer and whiskey from a production
standpoint. “Beer and whiskey share a common
starting point: grains are simmered to make a sug-
ar-rich broth on which yeast feast, creating alcohol.
Typically, a major difference is that distilleries are
usually concerned with getting the most sugars
(read: potential alcohol) from their grains, then let-
ting the barrels contribute the lion’s share of flavor
and aroma. Contrasting that, breweries use a full
suite of grains, even darker-roasted ones that con-
tribute fewer fermentable sugars. But now we’re
seeing distilleries such as Westland Distilling in
Seattle, WA take a craft brewer’s approach to grain
selection, building big flavors with any and all grains
9/16/21 3:43 PM