Crown-Breaker Artisan Ale, the beer we brewed for the 2013 Beer Advocate Extreme Beer Festival, is a hybrid that follows the guidelines set forth by the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Act of 1516), drawing on influences from the Rauchbiers of Bamberg and Gose of Leipzig.

Ten ingredients were chosen for this unique ale by Dogfish Head, The Alström Brothers, and the BeerAdvocate community, all sourced from small "mom & pop" producers: filtered tap water from Rehoboth, ocean water from the Delaware coast, pilsner malt from Valley Malt in Hadley Mass., crystal 90L malt from Colorado Malting in Alamosa, CO., Belma hops from Puterbaugh Farms in Mabton, WA., Cascade hops from Aroostook Hops in Westfield, ME., White Labs WLP008 East Coast Ale yeast, Dogfish Head DNA yeast (from a culture found originally at Fifer Orchards in Camden-Wyoming, DE.), Brettanomyces Custersianus from East Coast Yeast out of North Jersey, and Wild Cherrywood from Fifer Orchards. Whew!

The result is a 5% ABV clean malt-forward ale, with a hint of camp fire from smoking a portion of the pilsner malt AND the whole leaf Cascade hops from Aroostook (added at the end of the boil), smoked with the Wild Cherrywood from Fifer Orchards. The finish is delicately salty from the ocean water, and the Brettanomyces Custersianus yeast will add acidity with age, while remaining clean without the typical "horse blanket" character associated with most Brettanomyces strains.

Crown-Breaker is a nod to the Jack and Jill rhyme, as Jason and Todd Alström literally went down to the beach to fetch a pail of salt water for this brew.

Crown-Breaker will be served at the 2013 Extreme Beer Fest in Boston, MA and will be tapped the same day (2/9/13) at noon at our brewpub. It will be around until it's not.

Due to limited availabilty, our Brewpub Exclusive beers are not available in growlers.