Highland Brewing Keeps it Natural with Big Briar

Fruit- enhanced beers are usually associated with the summer season. Some breweries ruin an otherwise potentially good thing by brewing a fruit beer that is overly sweet and/or by using artificial fruit flavoring. Highland Brewing in Asheville, North Carolina avoids these common mistakes with its latest beer, Big Briar Tart Raspberry, a seasonal brew, set for immediate release with a special party at the brewery TODAY, April 28, 2017.

Big Briar Tart Raspberry is coral in color and weighs in at 5.4 percent alcohol by volume, making it just right for those who want real beer flavor and body but also prefer a fruit beer that is more easy- going and made for the season. The beer is brewed using seven and one- half pounds of natural raspberry puree per barrel of beer and according to Highland Brewmaster Hollie Stephenson, the fruit is added at the precise moment of fermentation to achieve the best overall flavor and character.

“There’s natural convection when we add the raspberry. The yeast is churning so much that the berries distribute naturally in a 200-barrel tank, top to bottom. The blowoff is pink,” said Stephenson.

Brewmaster Stephenson uses a less conventional approach to brewing this fruit enhanced beer. The yeast attacks the natural sugars present in the raspberry, reducing the sweetness level and leaving behind a degree of tartness. Then, the beer is filtered using a coarser filtration system that leaves small particles of raspberries in the beer- enough to enhance the character but too small for the eye to detect. And, for added flavor, the beer is hopped with El Dorado hops, imparting lemon character to the beer’s berry- centric persona.

Big Briar Tart Raspberry is available for sampling right now and anyone living in the Asheville or surrounding areas is encouraged to stop by the brewery to try the beer straight from the tap. It will also be distributed in bottles throughout Highland’s present distribution footprint. To learn more about this or other Highland beers, visit online at www.highlandbrewing.com.