Breckenridge and Starr Hill Brewery Introduce Whiteout Imperial IPA

21 Mar 2016 --- Breckenridge Brewery and Starr Hill Brewery are running it back with their second collaborative beer project. Whiteout, an imperial white IPA brewed with lemongrass from Virginia, debuts at Denver’s Collaboration Fest on Saturday, March 19th. Brewmasters Todd Usry of Breckenridge and Robbie O’Cain of Starr Hill developed the recipe and brewed it together last month at the Breckenridge production brewery in Littleton.

“It was pretty special brewing with Robbie for Collab Fest last year,” shares Usry. “He’s a solid brewer and a great guy, and he really connected with our team. Last year’s Snow Your Oats [chocolate oatmeal stout] was so well-received we made a pact to partner again at Collab Fest 2016.”

Last year O’Cain flew out with locally sourced Virginia oats for Snow Your Oats, so in the spirit of using Virginia ingredients again, he brought fresh lemongrass with him this year. Whiteout also features Citra and Amarillo hops that impart pleasantly aggressive IPA bitterness with aromas of tropical fruit and pine. Flavors of honey, clove and banana from Belgian yeast pair nicely with the lemongrass, which lends a soft flavor overlay reminiscent of tea.

So one might ask if there are more Starr Hill/ Breckenridge Brewery collaborations in the future. The alliance between Usry and O’Cain is quite natural with Usry’s roots in Virginia. “Besides,” Usry adds, “it isn’t hard at all to convince Robbie to come out to Colorado.”

Collaboration Fest kicks off Colorado Craft Beer Week, and Whiteout will be on tap at key accounts in the Denver area, including Breckenridge Brewery’s own Farm House restaurant in Littleton.