Today we are tapping one of our all time favorite beers to brew at Platte St: Our Neighborhood Hop Swap Pale Ale! This beer is especially noteworthy because it is brewed with hops grown by all of you, our Denver neighbors! Each year in the early spring, we give out hop rhizomes to anyone who wants to donate a little time and garden space to the noble cause of cultivating an urban hop farm. We gave out our first round of hops to our neighbors in 2011, before we even officially opened our doors. Each year we have handed out hops, more and more of our awesome neighbors get involved and each year our hop harvest increases.
Two weeks ago, we called on our farmers to harvest their hops and gathered around the brew house at Platte with seventeen of our local hop growers to make this one-of-a-kind community collaboration brew. After the grand weigh-in, a total of 25 pounds of fresh hops from our neighbors went into the brew. Each individual’s hop harvest will have a slightly different character depending on soil, water conditions, and slightly different geographic location. When combined, this diverse gathering of hops helps create a very unique flavor which is truly representative of Denver’s own terroir. A Denver beer, that only Denverites could make!
This year’s Hop Swap Pale Ale features a base of 2-Row, caramel, and Munich malts, with rich grassy, citrusy character from the hops that all our amazing community hop growers loving brought with their harvests.
Come down to the Taproom and raise a pint with us to the spirit of community and enjoy this distinctive display of Denver flavor!
Cheers!