Beer of the Week: Trailgate

It’s time to come clean. I am an imperfect person. Shocking, I know. I wouldn’t even be able to bring myself to admit it publicly were it not for the fact I know so many other beer fans have the same chinks in their armor. Allow me to explain. Each year (rain or shine), I attend Burgeon Beer Co.’s anniversary beer festival (the eighth edition of which takes place this Saturday, January 18), wherein the Carlsbad-based operation invites brewing companies that it has collaborated with throughout its lifespan to take over their expansive parking lot and serve their fine fluid wares. Stocked with rad beers from top-tier breweries, many of which can’t normally be accessed in San Diego County, it’s overwhelming in the best way. There is no way for one person to try everything, so I do my best to sample as many of the beers I have never had or may never see again. It’s an annual quest I revel in, made even better by the fact there are so many friendly faces from the local craft-beer community in attendance, and plenty of great members of the industry sporting grins as they pull tap handles and crack open containers of specialty creations. After indulging in an elongated lap around the festival grounds, my wife and I head into Burgeon’s private-turned-plubic event space, The Greenhouse (often to get shelter from uncannily reliable rainy weather), where I try some of the brewery’s decadent barrel-aged offerings. After consuming those high-alcohol stouts, it’s typically time to get moving before I start searching around for a lampshade to with which to crown myself. It’s a fun day to be sure, but there’s one thing missing, something I vow to do every year then fail to do: enjoy the anniversary beers Burgeon’s crew conjured for the occasion. Rather than try to convince myself that I, an admittedly imperfect person, will be able to do better, this year I sampled that duo ahead of time, including this week’s featured beer, Trailgate. A 6.7% (alcohol-by-volume) IPA following in the tradition of the company’s trademark, bone-dry, highly drinkable San Diego-style IPAs, it is double dry-hopped with multiple versions of Simcoe and Citra hops, plus Columbus Cryo and Mosaic Hyperboost. Green and fresh as the day (or year, in this case) is long, it offers a cornucopia of flavor sensations that’s worth taking a break from the rarer selections at what is widely heralded as one of the best annual beer events in all of San Diego County. Cheers to festing…and admitting one’s faults.

When brewing Trailgate, we prioritized accentuating the diverse hopping incorporated throughout the process. We started with a balanced blend of Pilsner and 2 Row malt to keep the body crisp and light. This lets us put our hopping skills to work with T90, Cryo, Dynaboost and Hyperboost utilized in layers during knockout, both dry-hops and finished beer. The control we have at each stage allows us to bring out the best of each of the hop varietals used. The result is a beautiful example of a hop-forward beer showing off plenty of citrus, harmonized with juicy fruit undernotes and a balanced bitterness that will be approachable by beer-lovers one and all!”

Daniel Vernon, Brewery Production Manager, Burgeon Beer Co.