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Things to Know about Applefest Appleweizen

The locals enjoy it so much, they made it the official beer of Applefest!

Apple Festing

Every September for the last 70 years, everybody gets together for a big parade with dozens of floats and marching, baton-twirling kids who stomp down to Abnet field next to the La Crescent Middle/High School to kick off Applefest.

If you listen you can hear the Apple Annies singing acapella and when you see them, you might be lucky enough to have your cheek adorned with an apple sticker or your t-shirt with an Applefest button. There’s a carnival, a cornhole tourney, a 5K run/walk, there are orchard tours, apple pie, a coronation of the new Royal Family and a beer tent with non-stop activities. This is where the tapping of the infamous, “Red Apple Keg” takes place.

Collaboration Across Borders

Celebrating generations of apple-farming, we call this a beer without borders as it brings cross-river neighbors from two different states together for a little hootin’ and hollerin’.

Like a marriage made in heaven, the Applefest Appleweizen is a marriage of fresh, light Wisconsin wheat ale and local, fresh-squeezed Minnesota Apples!

La Crescent, MN is right across the Mighty Miss from our brewery and La Crescent is surrounded by family-operated apple orchards. That’s why it’s known as The Apple Capital of Minnesota!

The Apples

Of all the apple varieties grown around here, Brewmaster Joe chose Honeycrisp apples because they are so darn good. We also like the fact that they are a Minnesota native! Honeycrisps are one of nine apple cultivars initially cultivated by the University of Minnesota that have become commercial varieties.

Patented in 1988 and released to the public in 1991, this apple wasn’t bred to grow, store or ship well. It was bred for taste: crisp, with balanced sweetness and acidity. That’s why we love ‘em. Local Honeycrisp apples are hand-harvested each Fall from one of the orchards just a few miles from our brewery and pressed into the freshest, most delicious juice you’ve ever had.

The Beer

Wheat beer brewed with Wisconsin barley and wheat malts. Fermented with a specific yeast for a pronounced estery aroma often found in Bavarian wheat beers and LAB for a fresh tanginess.

Seasonal Fall Release – 5.5% ABV 6 IBUs

SEASONAL RELEASE CALENDAR

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Things to Know about Smokin’ Hemp Porter

Things to Know about Smokin’ Hemp Porter

Another Pearl Street original. This dark, smooth, and easy drinkin’ porter is made with cherry-wood smoked malt and toasted Canadian hemp seeds. When aged throughout the year, its flavor matures with time.

One of the First

Pearl Street Brewery is ahead of its time when it comes to releasing beer that actually contains hemp. Pearl Street Founder and Brewmaster, Joe Katchever has been brewing and serving Smokin’ Hemp Porter on draught since 2008.

Approval

Katchever says, “although I applied several times, I couldn’t get Federal label approval for this beer because it had the word ‘hemp’ on the label. I have many emails back and forth with the TTB (the Federal Agency that regulates alcohol product labels) explaining that the beer did not contain illegal substances and that hemp itself is not illegal.

Ingredients

First, barley malt is smoked over cherry wood to a sweet smokiness, then hemp seeds are toasted to a nutty brown. Then, they are mashed together with crystal and chocolate malts, to form the backbone of Smokin’ Hemp Porter. Lightly hopped with classic British hops and cold-conditioned.

Flavor

You’ll find Smokin’ Hemp Porter to have an inviting smokiness remnant of Highland scotch. The body is medium and doesn’t fill you up as much as a heavier stout or robust porter. There is a noticeable nutty earthiness from the toasted hemp seeds and it finishes with a dry, non-cloying sweetness. Usually drunk fresh, this beer is often cellared for extended periods of a few months to a year or more. Figs, dates and vanilla flavor notes develop over time but the finish stays bold and smokey.

Limited 4/20 Release – 5.5% ABV 18 IBUs

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Things to Know about 17-Up Lemon Lime Gose

Things to Know about 17-Up Lemon Lime Gose

Originally brewed to celebrate 17 years of The Pearl Street Brewery, this is a tangy and refreshing conundrum.

From Nature

This sour summer ale has undergone spontaneous primary fermentation with wild, native microbes found in the air in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This natural, terroir fermentation doesn’t just create an inviting sourness, but also connects this beer to our land and our community.

Essence

This particular Gose is flavored with natural lemon-lime essence for a mind-warping exbeerience.

History

17Up is one of our versions of an ancient ale originating on the banks of the Gose River in northern Germany hundreds of years ago. To create the authentic water profile, we use real sea minerals harvested from an ancient sea bed to treat the water we brew this beer with. This beer is “wild” because it’s spontaneously and naturally fermented with wild microbes like it was centuries ago.

What’s Next for this Gose

This Gose was the first one to inspire the other three Goses we brew year-round. Look for the others, Like Gosecopia, Pop Gose and Sour Winter Gose when in season and download a free, printable beer release calendar to find our more!

Seasonal Summer Release – 5.3% ABV 3.5 IBUs

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