Two weeks ago we paired up with the lovely people of Triangle X Ranch for a one night get away in the Teton National Forrest.  Head Brewer Kevin Bolen and Executive Chef Thomas Ritter created a perfectly paired four course menu for forty guests and residents at the beautiful dude ranch 25 miles north of the town of Jackson, Wyoming.  Guests enjoyed delicious dishes paired and made with beer, plus a real ranch breakfast and lunch the next day.  No better place to ride horses, cross country ski and drink beer than with a view of the Tetons!

Stay tuned for more information to come.

Cheers!

Head Brewer Kevin Bolen talks about the newest addition to our Cellar Reserve Series.

So rich and smooth. Hope it makes you thirsty!

In the beginning the brothers scoured old brew houses and dairy farms for equipment. Their first fermentation tank was a stainless steel dairy bulk tank.  It wasn’t long before his home was overrun with friends stopping by to “sample” their beer.  The high demand led Charlie to send their friends home with a questionnaire.  Which beers do you like, and don’t like, and why?  The overwhelming positive feedback prompted Charlie, at the time an environmental educator for handicapped children, to travel to UC Davis were he took classes in Brewing Science.

In 1988 they founded Otto Brother’s’ Brewing out of a newly built shed in their back yard.  They launched Teton Ale as their flagship beer.  Soon to follow was Old Faithful Ale and Moose Juice Stout (retired).

In 1989 their father told them about a pre-prohibition container called a growler. The New England lidded tin pail was refillable at the local pub or bar by the consumer.  Charlie wanted to reintroduce the growler in a modern way and so came up with the 64oz glass jug still used by breweries today.  Through letter campaigns and ardent communication with legislature the brothers succeeded in legalizing the brewpub in Wyoming in 1992.  Thus allowing Otto Brother’s Brewing to sell beer directly to consumers from their brewery and prompting Charlie to move out of the cabin and convert it into a retail space and tasting room.  Shortly after they set up a six head hand bottling line for silk screen 22 oz. bottles.

In the spring of 1998 ground was broken on a new brewery on the other side of Teton Pass in Victor, ID.  Two years later they changed their name to Grand Teton Brewing Company.

Today Grand Teton Brewing Company is known for their renowned Cellar Reserve program.  The Cellar Reserve series of beers are unique, different even from other craft beers. They are brewed with specialty hops and malts and unique strains of yeast. Most ales and lagers are produced in 2-4 weeks. However, 3 to 8 months are spent on each of the Cellar Reserve specialty brews. They are also bottle and keg-conditioned, which produces natural carbonation that will blend and smooth the flavors with age. These beers have a long shelf life and don’t need to be rapidly consumed. Proper aging of these bottles creates beers to be cherished in the years to come.

VICTOR, ID – Grand Teton Brewing Company, known throughout the West for their exceptional craft brews, announces the release of 5 O’Clock Shadow Double Black Lager, the newest of their Cellar Reserve series.  Join them Wednesday February 1st at their pub for the inaugural tapping of the first keg at none other than 5 o’clock.

5 O’Clock Shadow Double Black Lager is brewed in the German Schwarzbier (black beer) tradition. Schwarzbier is to lager what stout or porter is to ale. Like those dark British beers, Schwarzbier has long been considered nourishing and even curative. German doctors often recommend Schwarzbier for nursing mothers. Our Brewmaster, born in Munich, was the beneficiary of just such advice.

We have taken the traditional Schwarzbier, intended to be a “session beer” with typically moderate alcohol, and almost doubled its strength to 7.6% alcohol by volume. We brewed our version with a fine balance of crystal and roasted malts and spiced it with noble hops. We fermented 5 O’Clock Shadow at cold temperatures with a select German lager yeast and cold-conditioned it for over four months to create a velvety smooth, easy-drinking springtime brew.

The 5’OClock Shadow marks the first ever black and white label from Grand Teton Brewing Company designed by our very own Kathleen Hanson.  It is complete with its own QR code directing consumers to a homemade video about the brew.

This German lager pours a deep brown, almost black color with ruby highlights. It has soft dark chocolate notes with hints of caramel and a light roasty finish.

5 O’Clock Shadow pairs nicely with hearty, spicy foods. Try it with barbecued, roasted or blackened meats and sausages. Steaks and burgers, especially charred, will taste great. A cheese of choice might be a fine Munster or even a buttery, well-aged cheese like Gouda. For dessert we suggest a raspberry tart or ginger pear cake.

Original Gravity:  18˚
International Bitterness Units: 38
Alcohol by Volume: 7.6%
Color (Lovibond): 40˚

Grand Teton Brewing Company was founded in 1988 as the first modern “micro” brewery in the state of Wyoming. Today, Grand Teton Brewing Company is in the Brewer’s Association’s “Top 100 Craft Breweries in North America.”  Their premium microbrews include the 9x gold-medal-winning Bitch Creek ESB, the 2009 Great American Beer Festival Gold Medal Winner (American Pale Ale) Sweetgrass APA and the favorites of the Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks; Old Faithful Ale (pale golden), Howling Wolf Weisse Bier (hefeweizen) and Teton Ale (amber.)  From their production facility in Victor, Idaho, Grand Teton Brewing Company beers are hand-crafted from only the finest ingredients, including locally-grown grains and pure Teton mountain spring water.  Grand Teton Brewing Company is a green company utilizing environmentally conscious and sustainable practices whenever possible.  Grand Teton Brewing Company is also the inventor of the modern glass growler, which is estimated to save over one billion bottles and cans from entering the ecosystem every year.  Discriminating beer drinkers can find their favorite Grand Teton Brewing Company brews on tap and in bottles throughout California, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, South Carolina, South Dakota, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.

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Contact: Julie Levy, Communications Manager
julie@grandtetonbrewing.com

www.grandtarghee.com/the-resort/dining.php

Call Beer Kitchen @  (816) 389-4180 to make reservations

Since its founding 23 years ago, Grand Teton Brewing Company (GTBC) has been aproud supporter of charitable causes in both Teton Valley, Idaho and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Our donations of beer, merchandise, employees’ time and even our facility have helped local non-profits raise money to enhance the well being of the people in our community.  As a company, we take pride in our community involvement.

For 2012, GTBC is again allocating funds from our budget to support charitable causes in the local area.  This budget is in addition to the cash donations we will make through the Tin Cup Challenge in 2012 via our popular Non-Profit Pub Nights early in the summer.  We are asking that you help us plan our giving year by applying for a donation well in advance of your event.

Click here for a link to out Donation Request form, which we ask you to complete and return to us by January 31, 2012.   All requests received by this date will be reviewed by a committee of brewery employees.  A large majority of our donation budget will be allocated based on this first round of requests.  We urge you to make your request early, even if you have not yet worked out all the details of your fundraising event.  We will award you a donation provisionally then ask you to contact us again four weeks prior to your event.

After the application deadline of January 31st, all later requests during 2012 will be considered on a case-by-case basis, only if given three weeks lead time and only if there are funds remaining in our donation budget.

New for 2012 is a Donation Information Sheet (included in our request form) listing our beers and sodas and showing your organization how you can increase your fundraising by selling our product.  We will give preference to those organizations that sell our beer and soda and leverage our donation to an even larger impact on the money they raise.

The GTBC Donations Committee will prioritize donation requests based on the following criteria:

1. Return our donation request form by January 31
2. A 501c3 non-profit organization located in Teton Valley, ID or Jackson, WY
3. Sell our beer or soda at your event to maximize the money you raise
4. GTBC will be the only brewery represented at your event
5. Include GTBC in the publicity of your event (posters, ads, banners, etc.)

We look forward to helping your non-profit organization achieve success in 2012.  If you have any questions, please email Julie Levy at beermail@grandtetonbrewing.com.

Sincerely,

 Ellen Furbacher

Co Owner & Donations Committee Chair