Rare Trait – Cerebral Brewing – 96 Rating

BC: Who came up with this beer’s recipe?
I developed the recipe in an attempt to create our version of what I’ve grown to love from some of the great East Coast breweries. We draw pretty heavy inspiration from the guys at Trillium, Tired Hands, Tree House, etc but at the time when we opened there weren’t any commercial examples of that style of IPA available locally. I worked on a few iterations before we opened on my 10 gallon system but ended up scrapping them and rebuilding the recipe from the ground up as the 3rd batch on our 10bbl system. Lucky for me it worked.

BC: What’s your favorite aspect of this beer (flavor, aroma, etc.)?
I love the complexity. Some days I pick out more mango, other days it smells just like a candy peach ring. It took us a few batches to really nail down the hop blend in Rare Trait but once we did we have really enjoyed how complementary the varieties are.

BC: Where does this beer’s name come from?
We wanted to reference the years and years of work hop breeders and growers put in before hop varieties are even available to brewers. It’s crazy what goes on behind the scenes just for a hop to make it to production.

BC: Is this your “desert island beer?”
No, that would be Taras Boulba from Brasserie de la Senne. Every time I have that beer I’m blown away by the complexity and utter drinkability.

BC: Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Juicy mango, candied peach, and tangerine with a restrained bitterness.

BC: Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
Rare Trait has become our fastest selling beer, so we’re brewing it very frequently. That’s allowed us to use it as a sort of playground in order to learn what techniques work best for us.

BC: What's a good food pairing for this beer?
Some of our favorite include samosas with mango chutney, grilled salmon or just a big greasy cheeseburger (and fries).