Crooked Hammock’s “Gentle Giant” Japanese lager to enter Extreme Beer Festival
Lewes, DE — When roughly 120 breweries across the country were invited to create sessional, extreme beers “via unexpected or innovative ingredients, techniques and methods,” Crooked Hammock Brewery rose to the challenge.
(Ingredients from left to right): Koji rice, Genmaicha green tea leaves, Sorachi hops, four types of malted rice, water.
One of three Delaware breweries invited by BeerAdvocate and Dogfish Head Brewery to create something that “challenges the norm” for beer lovers and to showcase their attempt at the Extreme Beer Fest in Boston, Crooked Hammock collaborated with 2018 StarChef Rising Star, three-time James Beard nominee and friend Hari Cameron to produce a Happoshu style Japanese Lager to take with them to the festival this year.
“[Cameron] is accustomed to pushing the boundaries on the plate,” said Crooked Hammock Brand Manager and Brewer Jon Schorah. “It was educational and fun to see him do so in a pint. Hari’s ventures have taught him different flavor profiles we haven’t explored yet and with some idea bouncing, we think we’ve come up with an exquisitely unique and flavorful beer to take with us to Boston.”
Gentle Giant, brewed with four different types of malted rice and aged on Genmaicha green tea and Koji rice, renders a light, crisp and crushable yet extreme beer at 4.2% ABV. The brew was inspired by Cameron’s interest in Japanese culture and his more frequent use of Koji rice in the past couple of years.
“Koji rice is used in many different Japanese recipes including sake, miso and soy sauce,” said Cameron. “I took a particular interest though in Sumo wrestlers and their diets when given this challenge. Sumo wrestlers are known to crush six different beers at each meal, making them the ultimate session beer drinkers.”
Gentle Giant is currently available at the brewery and restaurant located in Lewes, Delaware. The team will be traveling to Boston for the Extreme Beer Fest on February 1st.
Cover image features Crooked Hammock brewer Jon Schorah (left), and Chef Hari Cameron (right) brewing Gentle Giant.
Kristin is a writer and picture-taker in Ocean City, Maryland. She likes puppies, pumpkin ales and watching movies for the Ocean City Film Festival in her spare time.
