We’re stoked to have Fieldwork Brewing Co. participating in the Hop Chef Champion Brewer competition. Fieldwork has been up and running in Berkeley CA for just about a year and they’re a perfect fit for Hop Chef; they’re all about brewing unique, super delicious beers that often go against the mainstream. While some breweries focus on following industry trends, Fieldwork makes their own path. “We have the freedom to experiment because we’re a smaller self-distributed brewery. We brew beer that inspires us and challenges people to really think about what they’re drinking,” Alex Tweet, Co-Owner & Head Brewer told us.
When it came time for Alex to draw his ingredient for his Hop Chef beer the only thing he was thinking was “Anything but raisins.” Alex hates raisins (#fuckraisins). Fortunately for him he got Pineapple. Alex has never brewed with Pineapple before and although it’s an off flavor, he was excited to work with it. “Who doesn’t like pineapple?” he commented. Pineapple obviously conjures up ideas of tropical far off places and Alex’s plan is to play that up. “I wanna make a beer that taste like a Kenny Chesney song.” Like you’re sitting on a warm beach in Mexico and the ocean wave crashing on the sand is the only thing that matters.
The folks at Fieldwork haven’t finalized what they want to brew, but they have some ideas. “The beer needs to showcase the ingredient in a complementary way, yet be a megaphone for flavor,” says Alex. They’re looking at two separate base beers, IPA and Berliner Weisse, and aging them with pineapple for 48 hours – based on that test period they will determine which they want to use for their Hop Chef submission. “The sea salt IPA option is also very tempting,” he added. We’ll have to wait and see which one they choose!
Sea salt IPA please!!