Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride!

Traditional Polish Gratzer with Pumpkin “Be fair, alright? Everyone wants Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” – Brodie We at CBC are never ones to shy away from a challenge, as demonstrated by this most recent offering. Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride is brewed in the Grodziskie style. Grodziskie, or more commonly called Grätzer, originated in Poland and is a sessionable ale brewed with 100% smoked wheat malt, has a firm hop bitterness, and (depending on who you talk to) is slightly sour. [wpex more="Read more" less="Read less"] Although CBC’s brew house has been churning out delicious and unique brews for nearly 25 years, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride presented our brewers with a few new challenges. Foremost, a malt bill of nearly 100% wheat was a first for us. Wheat does not have a husk, so when it’s a large proportion of the malt bill lautering (removing the sugars from the grain) becomes difficult. Additionally, we soured the beer with a Lactobacillus only fermentation prior to a regular fermentation with brewers yeast - Saccharomyces. As the style calls for a small amount of acidification our brewers closely monitored the Lacto fermentation, and when the desired pH and flavor was reached they sent the wort back into the kettle for a second boil (another first). So you may be saying to yourself “enough with all that geeky stuff, what’s in my pint”? Well, we’re glad you asked: Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride has a thick white head and a very hazy golden in color thanks to the wheat malt and 150lbs of local sugar pumpkin. You’ll get a soft aroma of wood smoke along with fruity notes of pineapple and orange. Smoke flavors are also mild and in balance with fruitiness. The beer is light on the palate and finishes with a mild tartness and firm bitterness. This is one of those beers that almost shouldn’t work. As our friend Chris Lohring of Notch Brewing says, “Low ABV, 100% oak smoked wheat, and hoppy. It’s the worst sounding beer of all time.” And yet, as it turns out, it’s surprisingly delicious. Kudos to CBC Brewer Adrian Beck-Oliver (aka A-Bomb) for his months of research, hard work, and dedication to bringing this beer to fruition. We had a lot of fun going on the adventure that is Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride and hope you enjoy our weird little beer! Pint $5.50 Pitcher $18 Tower $30[/wpex]

Original Gravity
1.039

Final Gravity
1.013

Alcohol by Volume
4.0%