Riverwalk Brewing Revives 1990s ‘Yankee Ale’ Recipe
23 Jul 2015 --- Riverwalk Brewing revives an old local favorite, Yankee Ale.The story goes like this: Once upon a time there was a brewery in Newburyport, MA by the name of ‘Ould Newbury Brewing Company.’
It was a small brewery started by the husband & wife team, Joe and Pam Rolfe. They were among a group of breweries that began popping up in the early 90’s. Sadly, the brewery didn’t survive the economic downturn of the late nineties.
Joe Rolfe ended up befriending Riverwalk Principle & Head Brewer – Steve Sanderson. In a gesture of friendship, Mr.Rolfe donated his brewing items to Steve and Riverwalk. Included in the items were recipe sheets for the Ould Newbury Brewing flagship ‘Yankee Ale’.
“I think that Joe, the owner of Ould Newbury, felt a kinship with what we are doing now and wanted to help us succeed. He started the same way we did, with a real grass-roots, DIY attitude” mentions Sanderson.
It’s been almost 20 years since ‘Yankee Ale’ was produced and now Riverwalk Brewing Co. is going to revive it using locally grown hops (Tamarack Farm in Merrimac), and the information from the original brew logs. According to descriptions of the beer it was medium bodied and lightly hopped, with a glowing amber color and a pronounced malty flavor and smooth finish. “We thought it was important to highlight the brewers that helped to pave the way for us. These guys were trailblazers and some of them have been forgotten,” says Steve Sanderson.
Riverwalk Brewing unveils the ‘Yankee Ale’ by releasing this beer to coincide with the Yankee Homecoming festival in Newburyport which runs July 26 – August 2.
“It’s very exciting to brew something that hasn’t been in production for almost twenty years. I’m sure there are some folks out there who remember the original, but for the rest it’s like a time machine back into beer history,” says Sanderson.
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