One of America’s longest lived craft breweries has collaborated with an historic German brewery to produce an American- style pale ale, soon to be sold exclusively in Europe.
Sierra Nevada Brewing, one of the most successful craft breweries in the United States, is teaming up with Riegele, a 630 year old German brewery, to produce an American style pale ale. The new beer will be sold in select European markets in 330 ml bottles. The limited production beer is named Bayerisch Ale 2 and it was brewed in Riegele’s Augsburg brewery.
The recipe for this collaboration beer called for three of Riegele’s special yeast strains; two different malts; and a combination of Amarillo, Citra, Cascade and Simcoe hops. The final result is an unfiltered American Pale Ale with a distinctly German influenced personality. Riegele management team member Sebastian Priller- Riegele, a World Champion Beer Sommelier, says the beer meshes together the character of German and American beer quite nicely and goes great with hot weather.
“The beer has a fresh and lively character with notes of passion fruit, peach and apricot,” said Priller-Riegele. “Bayerisch Ale 2 is a perfect beer for summer.”
This is not the first time Sierra Nevada and Riegele have worked together. Craft beer fans might recall that the two breweries collaborated in 2015, producing Sierra Nevada’s award winning Oktoberfest beer. Sierra Nevada founder Ken Grossman says the two breweries share much in common and this is certainly an important ingredient in their collaboration success.
“We’re both family owned, our children are hands on, and we share a passion for great beer,” explained Grossman. “We’re aligned in so many ways, and I am confident that any beer that emerges from our partnership will be outstanding.”
Riegele brewery has a rich history that dates all the way back to 1386, the year the brewery was founded. Today, the brewery is still family owned and over the years, it has amassed a large number of awards. Just recently, Riegele was named 2015 German Craft Brewery of the Year; received the 2016 German Beer of the Year award; was voted Europe’s Best Brewery at the European Beer Star and 2016 World Cup of Beer; and was proclaimed 2010 German Beer of the Decade. A portfolio of highly recognized and acclaimed beers and many prestigious awards place Riegele in the same league as Sierra Nevada Brewing and serve as evidence of the two brewery’s expertise and quality.
Bayerish Ale 2 is brewed for exclusive release to German and European markets. As far as I know, it will not be distributed in the United States, but things in the brewing world can change quickly so who knows? Maybe a batch will be brewed in the United States in the near future exclusively for American distribution. I would love to see it happen, as I am completely confident the beer would be well received by American craft beer consumers.
For more information on Riegele, visit online at www.riegele.de. To follow on Facebook, go to www.facebook.com/riegele and be sure to “Like.”
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