What’s happening at Rockpit the week of 4-4-2019
Chris here, back with this what’s going on at Rockpit this weekend.
March was a heck of a month for us at Rockpit. We poured LOTS of beer, learned LOTS of lessons and are working to make your experience at Rockpit better for you every day.
So cheers to all of you and thank you so much for making Rockpit that much better.
In this edition of the Rockpit Brewing Insiders newsletter…
- Peach cobbler in a glass and this weeks release
- What we’ll be pouring into your glasses soon
- What we’re brewing
- Upcoming events
Peach cobbler in a glass and this weeks release
Last week Jeremy and I were discussing upcoming “National Day of” events we want to do. I mentioned to him that National Peach Cobbler Day was a few weeks away but didn’t think we had time to brew a beer for it.
Jeremy looked at me and said…
He immediately thought of a recipe to use and brewed the dang thing the next day. That’s the beauty of our pilot system. We can quickly brew up small batch recipes and get those beers into your glass super fast.
So next week we’ll be releasing a peach cobbler cream ale next Saturday on “National Peach Cobbler Day”.
And if I’m reading your minds at the moment… this is what you’re thinking.
On top of that, we’re putting a new sour on tap that was a HUGE hit when we took it to smash fest last year.
It’s called Yudu Yuzu which is our signature berliner base aged with Yuzu. Yuzu is tart and fragrant, closely resembling that of the grapefruit, with overtones of mandarin orange.
I just called it “Refreshingly tart”. It so freaking good on a warm day. Can’t wait for you sour lovers to try it.
It’s another sour that Danny knocked it out of the park on…
Yudu Yuzu will be on tap this Saturday!
What we’ll be pouring into your glasses soon
We currently have two new big batch beers fermenting in the tanks (along with the core beers) which are our New England IPA called “Yankee Savage” and our new experimental lager called “Miner’s Light”.
For you IPA lovers Yankee Savage is going to be right up your alley. Juicy, hoppy and oh so good. That traditional New England IPA that you’ve come to love.
Miner’s Light is our version of a light lager. You know… One with flavor (and no corn syrup or rice).
We’ve had a few requests for a little bit of a lighter lager than Laggard Sluice (our pale lager).
Truth is … We wanted to make a lighter lager for a while now. The reason being is this is a beer that can pull people away from the bud, coors and miller lagers and start to turn them into craft beer fans.
The biggest mistake we make as craft beer drinkers is attempting to turn our friends into craft beer drinkers by giving them an IPA.
No, no, no, no, no…
Six Point has a great blurb on the side of their Resin can:
We remember our first sip of hoppy beer, do you?
Nearly spit that $#!^ out. Now we fantasize about this stuff. Thinking about those hop cones… bursting with juice… ripe as all hell… makes you look forward to that first RESIN all day long. Can’t wait.
So one step at a time. Start with a lager, move them to a wheat or sodo blonding, maybe to H.L. Pale Ale… then a we can convert them to the dark side of IPA’s like Cackler and the soon to be on tap Yankee Savage.
Let’s pluck one at a time away from the big boys and get them drinking beer with taste.
At least that’s our evil plan.
(actual picture of Rockpit Brewing meeting discussing “evil” plan to steal customers from InBev)
What we’re brewing
Coming up in our brew schedule is a new Double IPA, a Hefeweizen and…. GOLD STRIKE!
For those who didn’t get a chance to try it, Gold Strike was a limited batch beer we did on our soft opening weekend. It quickly sold out.
It’s an imperial golden stout aged with cocoa nibs, coffee and toasted coconut. I had someone come in on Saturday that still remembered that beer and was disappointed.
When I told her we still hadn’t made it again, she sort of reacted like this…
I poured her an Illiana (our Belgian golden strong) and she was quite happy with it.
But still… For someone to remember a beer 6 weeks later (and this isn’t the first time that’s happened) is a big reason we’re doing it again. It will take about a month or so before it’s on tap again but man… y’all are in for a treat with it.
Easter egg hunt and other upcoming events
We’re still working on the details but we’re going to do an Easter egg hunt at the brewery Easter Sunday.
More details on that soon. Just know that it’s going to be for kids AND adults. Prizes for all…
Tasty Trivia (April 4th, 7:30 PM – 9:30 PM)
This is a mainstay. The response is incredible, and people come out in droves to enjoy this. It’s here to stay.
And seriously… if you haven’t been to it yet, come out to it one time and you’ll be hooked. It really is that much fun.
Central Florida Top Brewers Fest (April 6th, 1 PM – 5PM)
Central Florida Top Brewer is a Beer Fest unlike any other. It is designed to showcase the talents and creativity of our local Florida breweries.
In the past few years, Central Florida breweries have grown exponentially and proven there is a lot of talent here in our own backyard. The beer festival will be a take on the “Top Chef” style competition. Brewers have drawn one grain, one hop, and two miscellaneous ingredients. Brewers must brew a beer that includes all ingredients that were drawn.
We’ll be out there pouring our “Peanut Butter Mint” beer. Yeah, we got kind of screwed on our ingredients we picked… But we’re making it work.
Most likely Danny and Jeremy will be pouring the beer at this event.
National Pineapple Upside Down Cake Day / 420 day (April 20th, All Day)
We’ll be releasing our pineapple upside down cake berliner as well as turning the brewery into a “country tropical” brewery.
We’re still working on a food pairing and will hopefully have that nailed down asap.
We realize this coincides with “420” day. So we’ve got two things up our sleeve for that. One, we’ll have a “Mango Cush” cider on tap provided by Pedaler’s Cider.
We have a “Learn To Brew” class set up for that day. What they going to brew?
A super dank IPA…
Interested? See below.
Learn To Brew (April 20th, 12:30 – 3:30)
Our last homebrew class was a huge success. We were filled to capacity with it and Jameson knocked it out of the park.
If you ever wanted to take your beer knowledge to the next level and become the “expert” among your friends, now’s the time to do it.
It really does make enjoying your beer that much better when you know exactly how it’s made.
But do us a favor… don’t become a beer snob. That’s how you lose friends. 😊
In honor of 4/20 day, we’ll be brewing a super dank IPA.
And no worries if you miss this event. We’ll have new classes each month.
Big Brew Day / National Homebrew Day (May 4th, All Day)
As you walk up to the brewery on Saturday, May 4th, you’re going to see a bunch of people brewing up beer.
Why?
Because it’s National Homebrew Day and we, of course, have Orlando Homebrew Supplies located inside the brewery.
If you are already a homebrewer, bring your portable setup and come brew with us outside!
We will also be brewing a batch of beer inside on the 1BBL Colorado Brewing System which we use as a Pilot System. It’s a great chance to come and see how others brew, and to check out some tools of the pros!
We will have brewers of all experience levels on hand ranging from new folks, all the way up to seasoned professionals.
So if you’ve ever wondered how the beer is made here, there’s no better way to learn than to watch us and other homebrewers make a ton of beer that day.
That’s it for this week!
Cheers and see you soon,
Chris Rock
chris@rockpitbrewing.com
