Bottle Logic & AleSmith Brewing Collaborate for OC Brew Ha Ha

The air-conditioner labored to keep my car interior cool as I drove down the familiar stretch of California highway through the Orange Curtain to Anaheim, more specifically, the Bottle Logic Brewing tasting room. As members of the media arrived, setting up their cameras and powering up various devices, the glorious smell of beer being brewed began to permeate the room. We’re here to talk about a very special beer that’s called “Stable Orbit,” a collaboration between the iconic AleSmith Brewing out of San Diego and the avant-garde brewery, Bottle Logic.

Now, I know what most of you are thinking, another IPA? Not so fast my friends, this is a double IPA with a very unique twist. Wes Parker, Brewmaster at Bottle Logic began by saying “We wanted to make an interesting beer using all South African hops.” The hops in question are: Southern passion, Southern Star, African Queen and the mysterious XJA2. Anthony Chen, Lead brewer and Cellar manager at Alesmith added “it’s cool working with South African hops because it’s a relatively new crop compared to everything that’s out there. It has some similarities to American hops but also some unique flavors you can’t find here.”

This collaboration is particularly special to Brew HaHa Productions Co-Founder and director of Events Cameron Collins, “I honestly thought Alesmith was kind of a longshot. I was beyond thrilled when they said they were interested because they were the brewery that I got into when I first started in craft beer. Bottle Logic has been coming up and winning some awards as well, so the pairing just came together.” The proven pedigree of the incumbent mixed with the fiery upstart is looking to produce a juicy tribute to DIPAs with fruit-forward citrus, spicy and piney notes clocking in around the 8-8.5% ABV range. AleSmith’s Chen commented, “We also had notes of melon, berries and blueberries. So I think it’s really going to be up to one’s palate to see how the yeast plays out with the hops.” And if there’s one thing this beer won’t be missing, it’s the hops. The brewers are looking to add about 4lbs. per barrel of beer, Holy Hops Batman!

At least half of the 60 BBLs will be canned, according to Cameron Collins, “It will be hopefully be on draft and available in bottles by September 12^th. It’s our first DIPA so we’re excited about that. Last year’s collaboration sold out really quick so we’re going to try to get this beer out locally and places like LA, San Diego and Inland Empire.”

For Information on how to attend the 7^th Annual BrewHAHA Beer festival, go to their website at ocbrewhaha.com