In just a couple weeks we’ll be releasing a beer I brewed with a special guest brewer.  In addition to being the most prominent lady in my life, she’s also one of the most prominent ladies in the Philadelphia beer community.  Suzanne aka “The Beer Lass”  is a Sly Fox representative, food and beer writer, blogger, and the founder of “In Pursuit of Ale” one of the country’s first women’s beer clubs.  For years she’s been asking me to homebrew with her.  I always point out that I never ask her to sell beer in our kitchen on her day off, so she shouldn’t ask me to brew beer in our kitchen on my day off.  That doesn’t usually go over well.  Suzanne homebrewed a little years ago as part of her training with Sam Adam’s.  She’s been itching to do it again though, now that she knows so much more about beer.  She finally got me to agree to brew with her, but I got her to compromise and do a big batch on my Iron Hill system.  (Hey, if I’m going to brew all day, I want you all to try it!)

I wanted this beer to be all about Suzanne, so we weren’t just snapping a picture of her on the platform and calling it a collaboration beer.  I put her to work. (and there’s video to prove it).  The recipe also matches her personality.  Saison is one of  her favorite styles and peppercorns are her favorite seasoning.  So what else would we brew, but Saizanne, a peppercorn Saison?  We used pink and green peppercorns (the club’s unofficial colors) and fermented the beer with Sly Fox’s Saison yeast.  It all ties together.

We’ll be releasing the beer here at noon on Saturday April 30th and Suzanne will be moving her usual Wednesday night beer club meeting to Saturday at Iron Hill.  Any women beer lovers out there who are looking for a great group of women to appreciate beer in Philly with should come out and say hi.  We’ll be here all afternoon to talk about the beer and Suzanne has hinted that she may be able to bring some of the peppercorn ice cream she plans to make. It’s sweetened with a wort reduction and flavored with the beer itself  and whole pink peppercorns.  (That ice cream maker was one of the smartest birthday gifts I’ve ever gotten anyone!)

See you on the 30th!

Chris