Beer of the Week: Bavarian Hybrid

I really love beer. It sure would be cool if I could brew my own [insert name of dream beer here], but I don’t know the first thing about brewing or have any homebrewers in my friend circle. On top of that, I’m too busy to learn how to make beer and don’t really want to purchase (or store or clean) all the equipment and ingredients it would take to make my dream beer a reality. It’s a common lament, but if you’ve ever engaged in a mental diatribe like the one above, there is a way to get that brainchild beer of yours manufactured. Not only that, but you can brew it yourself under the kindly supervision of someone who’s been helping amateurs in this manner for over a decade. That sudsy Samaritan is Judd McGhee, the owner of Citizen Brewers, a unique brewing facility in Grantville where individuals and groups at all skill levels ‒ from the greenest newb to award-winning homebrewers ‒ convene to craft ales and lagers for their personal enjoyment. McGhee has an extensive collection of recipes customers can choose from, but he’ll also work with people to brew up something to their specifications. From there, he walks clients, be they individuals, or groups of friends, families, team-building work colleagues, sports teams or wedding parties, through a brew day, resulting in a batch of beer that can be kegged or canned (complete with custom labels featuring whatever clever, hilarious or straightforward beer name you come up with) for taking home, gifting or handing out at special events like birthday, graduation, bachelor or bachelorette parties. Even after all these years, McGhee is still immensely passionate about brewing, enough to make fun beers for his and his customers’ enjoyment. One of those creations is this week’s featured beer, Bavarian Hybrid. A German ale fermented at cold temperatures, it’s golden in color with a bouquet resembling that of proofing bread dough. Notes of fresh bread are followed up by spicy, earthy hop notes in the finish. It’s a well-made beer one wouldn’t likely find on a store shelf, but when you have free reign to brew what you want, the sky’s the limit…whether you know the first thing about how to brew or not!

I’m so excited to be sharing an experimental beer we’re dubbing Bavarian Hybrid! Technically a German ale, the concept was to produce a somewhat hop-forward and characterful beer coming in at 4.7% ABV (alcohol-by-volume). German ale yeast fermented at a low temperature is what makes this brew a ‘hybrid’. The approach was to expedite the production time while striving to achieve the cleaner, delicate traits of a lager. Two varieties of European Pilsner malt and a touch of Vienna malt were added for the grist. Czech Saaz hops were introduced in the mash and boil, and we even included some for dry-hopping. The beer has a light body and spicy herbal quality in the aroma with a crispy finish. I brewed this one according to my personal preference, but I’m looking forward to sharing. Prost!”

Judd McGhee, Owner & Head Brewer, Citizen Brewers

Citizen Brewers is located at 5837 Mission Gorge Road in Grantville