Widmer Brothers To Release Pitch Black IPA And KGB Russian Imperial Stout
18 Feb 2015 --- Two recent favorites from Widmer Brothers Brewing’s 30-year recipe archive were released this month in the brewery’s 30 Beers for 30 Years Series: Pitch Black IPA and KGB Russian Imperial Stout. These beers represent the years 2010 and 2011, respectively, and both dark offerings are great for the last cold months of winter.
Both beers, as well as the entire 30 Beers for 30 Years Series, are available in 22-ounce bottles and on draught in the Portland area for a very limited time. Only 30 cases of each beer were brewed on Widmer Brothers’ 10-barrel pilot system and packaged with custom labels designed by local artists.
Pitch Black IPA was one of the original style examples that eventually became a formally recognized beer style, “American-Style India Black Ale,” or as some would call it, Black IPA or Cascadian Dark Ale.
In 2010, Rob Widmer got together with a select few other Northwest breweries and industry luminaries at Belmont Station in Portland to discuss the new style. They used Pitch Black IPA and a few other notable NW offerings to build guidelines for the style. A proposal was drafted and sent to the Brewer’s Association. The proposal was ultimately successful and “American-Style India Black Ale” became a recognized style that same year. Pitch Black IPA, or as it was known at the time, W’10, won a GABF Gold Medal in 2009.
KGB is a creation of longtime brewer Ben Dobler, who first presented this Russian Imperial Stout to beer drinkers in the Widmer Brothers Pub in 1998. The beer quickly turned into a Pub favorite, and was eventually bottled as part of the W-Series in 2011. The dark, full-bodied Russian Imperial Stout was available seasonally until 2013 and is occasionally available on draught.
These two re-released beers are available now throughout February, while supplies last. Each beer in the 30 Beers for 30 Years Series features unique label art from 30 different local artists and designers. Designer Justin Morrison of Scrappers created the Pitch Black IPA label, and John Fischer of MR. FISHYFISH created the KGB Russian Imperial Stout label.
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