The beer’s hop additions were carried out over a 90-minute period by local members of the mighty American Homebrewers Association.
210 AHA members participated in the hopping of the beer. That’s a load of hoppy people, must be a record of some sort. The AHA was founded by our hero Charlie Papazian and is headquartered in Boulder, CO.
The rally was blast for us, and attendees pitched hops into the boiling brew kettle as Collective Hoppiness was being made by Wynkoop brewer Brad Landman.
The beer is a delicious, cola-colored imperial ale that's hoppy from start to finish, its unctuous hops balanced by deep malt flavors and a hint of cocoa. A hop head's ulitmate cold-weather treat, it was built with premium two-row malt, chocolate malt, small amounts of rye and aromatic malts, flaked oats, and five kinds of hops (Summit, Cascade, Sorachi Ace, Amarillo and Columbus).
Collective Hoppiness was fermented with a hard-working English ale yeast and finished at 8.5% ABV and 90+ IBUs.
AHA members who buy the beer at Wynkoop and flash their membership card receive a complimentary limited-edition, AHA-logoed pint glass with their purchase of the beer.
Stop in and try this limited-release beer soon. Become a member of the AHA at www.homebrewersassociation.org.
Hosting the local members of the AHA was big thrill for us. These people are as passionate about beer as we are. And most of us got started on the road to craft beer thanks to the AHA. We're disciples of Charlie Papazian. We learned to brew by reading his books and Zymurgy, the AHA's great homebrewing magazine.
For many of us, in our early beer-discovery days the only way to get goose-bumping beer was to make it yourself. So hosting the AHA rally was a chance to repay an old debt and say "thanks!" to a group we treasure.
Cheers to the AHA!
Marty Jones
