THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22

Beer Release: 5pm

Event Start Time: 7pm 

Background

European Sour Ales are traditional styles of beer that originated in what is now Belgium and Germany, and often have wheat added to the grain bill. In the case of both Berliner Weisse and Belgian Sours, the beers are often sweetened or flavored to balance the sourness, and in most modern breweries, fruited sours have been the most common.

With modern machinery, a lot of breweries produce what is known as a “kettle sour” which means that they have added bacteria to the wort and held the boil kettle at a specific temperature for twenty-four hours before bring the wort back up to boil and completing the brew. The energy required to complete a two-day brew is part of the reason we haven’t made a commercial sour—until now.

Using a yeast that contains a souring agent that can create those same tart flavors during the fermentation process, we’ve brewed our first-ever sour using pomegranate juice as well as pressed blackcurrants, which we sourced from our friends at C. Cassis in Rhinebeck, NY. (C. Cassis happens to be a woman-owned and woman-led distillery, and the makers of the C. Cassis Spritz, which is a favorite among many Hot Plate guests.)

What’s in a Name?

While it may seem like women working as fermenters and distillers may be a modern occurrence, women have been producing alcohol throughout most of history, and because of the strong association between women and brewing in the pre-modern times, a lot of negative associations with witchcraft grew out of that time period.

Instead of running from some of those caricatures, we’ve decided to embrace the relationship between feminine energy, brewing, and alchemy in general, and we want to celebrate the craft of all sorts of women. In addition to Sarah, our head brewer, and Rachel, the owner and distiller at C. Cassis, we’re honoring all sorts of alchemists, witches, makers, and healers—which is also a reason why we added pomegranates to this sour, beause of their symbolic connection with metaphysics. In fact, the name itself—The High Priestess—is a card in Tarot, and helps brings together all of these points of inspiration into a single weave.

Launch Party Details:

Similar to the Witchy Wednesday event we held in late October, we are once again having a metaphysical celebration in our taproom and will be joined by a few Berkshires-based witches, a Tarot card reader, and a crystal and jewelry maker who will all be showcasing their talents together.