Sand Creek Brewing Co. - SMaSH Calypso American Pale Ale

This limited edition is one of Sand Creek’s SMaSH series brews (Single-Malt and Single-Hop), and is a distinct variant of their normal APA. We love single hop brews because they’re so perfect for getting to know the characteristics of a given varietal. This brew features the relatively new Calypso hop for both bittering and aroma, and almost the entire malt bill is 2-row pale malt with just a splash of Vienna and very pale caramel malt. Bright golden and clear with a robust, fluffy, tight-bubbled cap of foam, this brew offers up plenty of hoppy notes including touches of pear, apple, stone fruits, and a bit of lemon-lime, all backed by pale malts. On the palate, look for the pale malt to come through fairly robustly, though purposefully simple with hints of cracker and biscuit—creating a strong, clear stage for the hops which offer their fruity notes in concert with moderately firm bitterness which easily keeps this pale ale quite dry, crisp, and refreshing. Try pairing with lemon pepper chicken or chicken gyros with a yogurt dill sauce. Cheers!

Brewmaster Cory Schroeder began homebrewing in his spare time in the late 1980s and soon realized his knack for crafting good beers. In the late 1990s, he teamed up with business partner Jim Wiesender, and the two set out to build a brewery on the Schroeder family dairy farm. A large shed served as the brewhouse, with various scrounged-up materials serving as the brewing equipment, including a refrigerated semi-trailer which became the beer cooler, and pudding tanks as the mash and brew kettles. The Sand Creek Brewing Company opened for business in 1999, marketing their ales in local taverns and restaurants and via promotion at beer festivals throughout Wisconsin, all the while working to expand and upgrade their brewing facilities.

In early 2004 the opportunity arose to acquire the historic Pioneer Brewing Company in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, and Sand Creek relocated their brewing to that facility. It’s an historic building, dating to 1856 when it started life as the Oderbolz Brewing Company. Brewing had stopped in 1920 due to Prohibition, but Pioneer had revived operations in 1995. Cut into the side of a hill, the brewery was built with thick stone walls insulating a beer storage cellar which Sand Creek uses to this day. The move to this facility gave Sand Creek the opportunity to expand their line-up to almost a dozen different beers, not to mention seasonal and limited-run beers. Pioneer’s very talented brewmaster, Todd Krueger, has remained as Brewmaster and is now a partner in the new, combined brewery operation. He is a multiple World Beer Championship gold medalist—quite an asset to the brewery. For more information about Sand Creek, their tap room, and brewery tours, call 715-284-7553 or check out their web site at www.sandcreekbrewing.com.