PORTLAND, Ore. – Von Ebert Brewing, winner of the 2021 Oregon Beer Awards’ Medium Size Brewery of the Year, and Breakside Brewery, winner of the 2021 Oregon Beer Awards’ Large Brewery of the Year, will release a new beer brewed to commemorate the wedding anniversary of two of their brewers on Friday, December 3.
Ten years ago, Madeleine McCarthy and Matt Kollaja were married in their hometown of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Both avid homebrewers, the couple brewed four different beers for their wedding and with the help of the groomsmen, constructed a giant kegerator for serving the beers. Shortly after the wedding, the pair decided to move to Portland, Oregon, the beer capital of the country, to pursue ambitions of working in the craft beer industry.
Fast forward ten years and the couple has found themselves individually each working at two of the leading breweries in Portland – Maddy as a brewer at Von Ebert Brewing and Matt as a brewer at Breakside Brewery. Both breweries were recognized earlier this year at the Oregon Beer Awards as brewery of the year for their respective sizes.
To recognize this milestone anniversary, the couple decided to brew together once again, this time each representing their respective brewery to create Islands in the Stream, a 5.4% ABV can-conditioned celebratory saison.
“We started with Oklahoma-grown white wheat, in a nod to our home state,” explained Maddy. “Then to represent our current lives in Portland, added some Pacific Northwest-grown malted triticale, a wheat-rye hybrid malt. We finished the malt bill with Weyermann pilsner malt.”
“We were fortunate enough to be able to use a saison yeast strain whose phenols and esters play nicely with subtle aromas and flavors from hops,” added Matt. “We layered Hallertau Mittlefruh, Azacca, Nectar, and Sultana in the kettle and whirlpool to produce soft notes of pineapple, candied peaches, and bright citrus. It finishes nicely with a kiss of spice from the Mittlefruh and phenolics from the yeast.”
On canning day, the duo added priming sugar and yeast to the packaging tank for can conditioning.
“Conditioning is typically done in bottles, but we thought this beer presented the perfect opportunity for can conditioning,” said Maddy.
The conditioning process involved packaging beer that contains little to no carbon dioxide and then adding priming sugars that yeast will ferment in the can. They then warm-stored the cans to help kick-start refermentation. This produces carbon dioxide, which is absorbed into the beer, giving it natural sparking carbonation.
As for the name?
“Islands in the Stream is our favorite Dolly Parton song,” offered Maddy. “The song is a story about two people in love, a team, making a beautiful life together no matter what’s thrown at them.”
“If we were any good at karaoke it would be our go-to ballad,” added Matt.
Islands in the Stream will be available in 16oz. can four-packs and draft at both the Von Ebert Glendoveer and Pearl brewpubs, as well as all Breakside Brewery locations.
Find Von Ebert on social media: @vebrewing and facebook.com/VonEbertBrewing.
About Von Ebert Brewing
Von Ebert Brewing, winner of Brewery of the Year, Medium Size, at the 2021 Oregon Beer Awards, sits at the crossroads where storied traditions meet bold new ideas in brewing. Independently owned and operated, the Portland, OR-based brewery produces award-winning beers in a variety of styles. Von Ebert beers have received medals at numerous competitions, world-class ratings from top blind tasting panels, and recognition as one of the top 20 beers in the world over the past year. In addition to modern IPAs and crisp lagers, the oak-aged, bottle-conditioned Heritage beer program sets the brewery apart. All of the beers pair perfectly with the elevated American pub cuisine served at both brewpub locations. For more information, please visit www.vonebertbrewing.com.