North Carolina – Catawba Brewing released Mango Sriracha-cha Lager (5.8 percent ABV). This Small Batch draft-only offering will be available exclusively at Catawba tasting rooms. The beer represents a unique partnership among three Western North Carolina companies, with Roots Foods and Riverbend Malt House joining forces with Catawba on the project. One dollar from each pint sold will be donated to the Roots Foundation in support of local educators.
Brewed in Catawba’s Asheville South Slope brewhouse, Mango Sriracha-cha Lager is built on abackbone of 100% Chesapeake Pilsner malt provided by Riverbend. Chesapeake Pilsner is produced using 2-row barley sourced from Virginia. It originally emerged from Riverbend’s custom malt program. Light in color, the malt features a nuanced flavor profile that includes honeysuckle and bread crumb. Given the specialty ingredients that follow, one might specifically detect notes of pita bread.
As its name implies, this is no ordinary lager. The beer fermented slow and cold over six weeks, before conditioning on a generous addition of mangos and Japones peppers provided by Roots Foods. The recipe was inspired by the Asian flavors in Roots’ popular Mango Sriracha Hummus. The beer delivers a burst of “sweet heat” layered across bready Pilsner malt undertones. A study in contrasts, the flavor profile is tantalizingly complex without overpowering its smooth, crisp, easy-drinking lager character. The beer pairs beautifully with spicy Asian dishes.
Mango Sriracha-cha Lager will be featured at a release event at Catawba’s Asheville South Slope brewery from 3-10pm on Friday. Representatives from Roots and Riverbend will be onsite offering samples and giveaways. Live music by the Maggie Valley Band starts at 7pm. Deli Llammma food truck will serve up a special menu in honor of the event in the courtyard.
In addition to the Asheville festivities, this collaboration beer will be released at all Catawba tasting rooms on Friday. Catawba and Roots Foods share much of the same distribution footprint, so look for hummus pairings to be available at each location.
“We had a blast collaborating with Roots and Riverbend on this project,” said Catawba Marketing Director, Brian Ivey. “It was a natural partnership with two of our favorite local companies that share our passion for giving back to our local communities.” Added Riverbend Malt House Sales Manager, Chad McRae, “We’re proud to support local businesses like Catawba Brewing and Roots Foods while raising money for a great cause.”
“We’re amazed at the generosity and collaborative spirit that Catawba brings to our community and has chosen to share with Roots,” said Roots CEO, Matt Parris. “Asheville has a uniquely supportive business climate and this partnership with Catawba and Riverbend illustrates why it’s the perfect place to develop the mission of the Roots Foundation: To support teachers and connect with community resources in the work of using food-focused, project-based lessons as the basis of education. If there’s anywhere that embodies the power of food and drink to build real community and lift each other up, it’s Asheville.”
About Catawba Brewing Company
Catawba Brewing Co. has been an industry leader in Western North Carolina’s craft beer scene for two decades. The company was founded in 1999 by WNC natives, the Pyatt family, who were inspired by their weekend homebrew hobby. From humble beginnings, the business has grown exponentially to become a major craft beer supplier across five states. Catawba now operates breweries and tasting rooms in four NC cities – Morganton, Asheville, Charlotte, and Wilmington – embracing a hybrid wholesale/retail strategy. With the 2018 acquisition of Palmetto Brewing Co. in Charleston, SC, the Pyatt family hobby has spawned one of the Southeast’s largest and most diverse craft brewing entities. Learn more at www.catawbabrewing.com
About Riverbend Malt House
Founded in 2011, Riverbend creates unique, high-quality malt for the brewing and distilling industries, sourced from local, family owned farms and produced in a socially and environmentally responsible manner. The company pledges to provide the area’s craft brewers with locally-farmed, artisan malts that bring depth and character to their passion, while greatly lessening the local industry’s impact on the planet.
About Roots Foods
The Roots Hummus Story begins in 2006 in a 200-square-foot storage room in the back of a West Asheville food co-op. From this modest space, Matt Parris decided to launch a small takeout business, despite being armed with little more than a food processor and a healthy dose of naiveté. Roots Hummus’ mission is straightforward: to make the absolute best hummus on the planet. To achieve this, we craft 100 percent natural, non-GMO, preservative-free hummus. Simple yet mighty, our hummus is a plant-based nutritional powerhouse that’s ready to eat anytime, anywhere. Every batch we create is inherently vegan and gluten-free.
About the Roots Foundation
Roots is a product of its employees and Asheville, and it is deeply tied to both. The company is a Living Wage-certified employer, and a percentage of its profits help fund the Roots Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that partners with Asheville City Schools to increase students’ access to outdoor gardens and project-based learning. This effort is a part of Roots’s vision to help create a better, healthier, world. As Roots sees it, when it comes to bringing people together there’s no better place to start than with education and food, the roots of our society.
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