[8/19 Update: Just heard from Chris Wilson. He says that this beer is primarily made with Cascade and some Nugget, no Centennial. I am just as confused as you are. He says 50 bbl this time so the beer will stay in PA in bottle and draft form. They plan to make more for next year’s batch, hop-yield permitting.]

(Allentown, PA) – Here is the first look at Weyerbacher Harvest Ale. I was hoping to get more info from Chris Wilson, Head Brewer, by now (if for no other reason than to send him a reply thank you for creating the masterful beer that is Weyerbacher Thirteen). Luckily, Tim Blangger of the Tri-City Herald did some of the legwork for me. Here is the story:

I alluded to the beer last week, but to refresh memories I referenced a Flying Fish Brewing blog article that discussed Dan Weirback’s hop farm. The only discrepancy that I can see between the blog and Blangger’s article is that Weirback is actually growing Centennial hops, not Cascade. Nugget and Centennial will make up the hop profile for Harvest Ale, a 6.2% IPA, and will be harvested in late August or early September. Wet hops have to be used immediately so the beer will be brewed and bottled shortly thereafter. According to Blangger, the estimated release window is late September or early October.

Something else interesting to take away from the article…Weirback is the only commercial brewer brewing his own hops in Pennsylvania. However, “One other brewer with a Harrisburg-based brewery is growing hops on his own, and hopes to produce enough to use them in a batch, but his effort is still in the experimental stage.” Given that Weirback owns one of three Pennsylvania operations in Appalachian Brewing, that would narrow it down to Lancaster Brewing, a small brewpub, and Troegs Brewing. Troegs is well-known for “Nugget Nectar,” either classified as a hoppy red ale or IPA depending on what reference you look up. We’re guessing that Troegs has something up its sleeve (or is this already known?).

As a reminder, Weyerbacher Bravo will be out later this week on draft and possibly at the brewery in bottles as early as this weekend, but do call ahead.