Berry Occidental – Raspberry Wheat Beer

Sometimes the best inventions start out by accident – chocolate chip cookies, post-it notes, penicillin, the slinky, and, now, our raspberry wheat beer – Berry Occidental  :). Although this beer is a happy accident (story below), it tastes like we put all of our effort into creating the most refreshing, drinkable, summery beer in the market. Berry Occidental is an American-style wheat beer made with black raspberries picked at Hobbs Farm (North Hampton, NH) and raspberries we had picked and then saved from Meadow’s Mirth Farm (Stratham, NH). Like most of the beers we brew, this is one very well balanced beverage. It is just the right amount of berry to taste like you are drinking Summer – perfectly balanced between tart & sweet. Rich, almost purply-pink in color, Berry Occidental has an aroma and flavor of fresh picked raspberries. While this beer is a great one to drink with friends (preferably outside on the porch) or while mowing the lawn, it also pairs nicely with food – crisp salads, fruit desserts – like crisps, chicken salad, and, of course, chocolate. Berry Occidental clocks in at 5.5% ABV and 18 IBU.

So what’s with the name and how did we end up crafting this beer?  Well, it all started over a decade ago when Annette and I started home brewing. We made this raspberry wheat beer that we absolutely loved and that our friends loved as well- even bringing home the coveted ‘gold medal’ at our friend Bruce’s annual beer fest. Fast forward to this year… As the Winter kept lingering on and on, I started asking Annette to brew our raspberry wheat beer at Throwback. I had these great fantasies of beautiful Summer days, hanging out on the hammock, reading a book, drinking this beer, and reveling in the perfect combination of heat, relaxation, and thirst-quenching berry deliciousness.

At about the same time I was asking Annette to brew the raspberry wheat beer, assistant brewer Chris was busy at the brewery crafting up a batch of our Hog Happy Hefeweizen (a German-style wheat beer.)  When Chris went to pitch the yeast, he accidentally grabbed the wrong one. As many of you might know, yeast makes a big difference in how a beer tastes, looks, and even smells. In the case of Hog Happy Hef, all the banana / clove aromas and flavors come from the yeast. We didn’t realize the yeast mixup until Annette went to try the batch of Hef, and discovered there were no banana notes! Rather than worry about the mixup, we used this as an opportunity to fulfill my dreams of quaffing raspberry wheat beer on a beautiful Spring / Summer day.  🙂

To the wheat beer, we added many bags of raspberries that we had picked and then saved from Meadow’s Mirth Farm. We also added black raspberries (a.k.a Rubus Occidentalis) that we discovered at Hobbs Farm. That discovery was also a happy accident. My dog at the time, Hank, had wandered off to the edge of the Hobbs Farm property. When I went to retrieve him, I found him lounging under this beautiful patch of plump and juicy black raspberries. It took every ounce of my will power to not inhale every berry! Instead, we picked and saved the beers, which we then pulled out for Berry Occidental.

So there you go. Two happy accidents have resulted in an amazing beer – perfect for this time of year. We really love it, and hope you will, too!
Berry Occidental will go on tap just in time for Memorial Day Weekend– Thursday, May 21st 4-7pm. And did I bribe Chris to change the yeast on the Hef? I will never tell! 🙂