Peak Organic Brewing Company - Winter Session Ale

Peak’s Winter Session Ale pours a deep, dark, red-amber color topped by a head of persistent foam. Citra hops are often used to craft single-hop beers due to Citra’s ability to add firm bitterness thanks to its high alpha-acid content, as well as very bold and bright fruit aromas. This winter seasonal brew from Peak is a prime example, a real showcase for locally-grown Citra (with which the beer was also dry-hopped); bold hop aromas come forth including big, juicy notes of pineapple-like tropical fruit as well as citrus akin to tangerine and grapefruit. Look for that bright hop character in the flavor, too, with those citrus notes hitting upfront and firm bitterness building across the palate and lingering in the finish. Dark wheat malt, a key ingredient in German dunkelweizen and weizenbock, is important in this brew as well, contributing prominent toasted bread notes and just a hint of char. This isn’t the simplest brew to fit into a style definition, and we like that. Peak refers to it as a “session IPA for winter,” and we think it could be considered a highly-hopped American take on a dunkelweizen. Regardless of how it’s categorized, we found it a very tasty brew which works well on its own or paired with spicy grilled meats whose smoky notes and spicy heat can complement the beer’s toasty malt and bright hop profile, respectively. Cheers!

Given its small population, Maine is home to a surprising number of craft breweries, such as Allagash, Geary’s, and Shipyard, just to name a few. The state just knows good beer, and we’re very enthused to bring you another great producer, Peak Organic Brewing Company, which, as the name suggests, is one of a handful of breweries devoted to producing USDA Certified Organic beer. The brewery was founded by Baltimore native Jon Cadoux, whose homebrewing experience stretches back to his college years in the late ‘90s. It was during that time that he discovered the merits of both organic food and beer, and how much better they tasted to both himself and his homebrewing brother Mike and their friends. After graduating from Harvard with an MBA, and surrounded by supportive friends and family, Jon took the leap and founded Peak Organic Brewing Company in 2005.

Peak’s focus is not simply on organic beer (produced with organically grown grain and hops), they’re dedicated to sustainability and purchasing their malts, hops, and other ingredients from local farmers and producers who share their philosophy. They’ve collaborated on beers with Taza, a producer of hand-crafted bean-to-bar chocolate, as well as Coffee By Design, a local artisanal coffee roaster. In fact, their Espresso Amber Ale became the first Fair Trade Certified beer in the US. To highlight local production and to showcase the effects of regional terroir on a finished beer, Peak released their very unique “Local Series” beers, a set of four brews with identical recipes but featuring malts and hops produced in just one particular state, either Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts, or New York. To learn more about Peak, visit their website at www.peakbrewing.com.