From the Beer Writer: Large doses of CTZ, Cascade and Chinook hops went into this week’s featured beer, Duck Foot KASHI-entious IPA, but the ingredients that make it particularly special are those that make up the malt bill: oats and wheat. Pretty sexy, eh? Under normal circumstances, this is hardly noteworthy, but the components in question are “transitional”. Few know what this means, but that’s why this India pale ale was brewed, to help educate the public on ingredients produced by American farmers during the lengthy period required by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to gain Organic certification. The idea for this came from Solana Beach-based Kashi, who helped Duck Foot Brewing Company procure the transitional oats and wheat for this beer, which comes in at 7.4% alcohol-by-volume and comes across as a bit of a throwback to the days when IPAs had long-lasting, assertive bitterness. A lemon bouquet gives way to grapefruit and toasted biscuit notes on the palate, leaving a tacky pithiness in the back of one’s throat. Much like newfound info about Organic certification, it’s a lot for the mind and taste buds to contemplate. The beer debuts today and will also be on tap at Duck Foot’s second anniversary party, which will take place on Saturday, July 8.
From the Brewer: We’ve collaborated with San Diego’s own Kashi on this IPA brewed with transitional ingredients in order to help American farmers in the process of increasing organic farmland. It takes three years for farmers to convert their fields to be eligible for USDA Organic certification. During this time, they cannot use pesticides, but they also cannot yet call their crops Organic. Kashi…and now Duck Foot…is trying to raise awareness of the hardship that these farmers endure during this ‘transitional’ period. By featuring transitional ingredients in this beer—in this case, rolled oats and hard red winter wheat—we hope to help promote their cause. As Kashi would say: ‘Don’t just brew something awesome, do something awesome!’”—Brett Goldstock, Chief Fermentation Officer, Duck Foot Brewing Company