Beer Spotlight!

Crooked Run / Wheatland Spring / Wild East Labor Days

$11.99 for the 16oz four-pack
Corn Lager

What would you expect three creative craft breweries to make when they pooled their resources? How about a corn lager? Yeah, we didn’t see that coming either.

When Crooked Run Fermentation in Sterling, VA brews their anniversary beers, they do a cool thing, they collaborate with other breweries. This year is their 10th anniversary, and they have released four brews to celebrate. This one is number three.

Crooked Run has reached out both to Brooklyn’s Wild East Brewing Company and to Wheatland Spring in Waterford, VA to make a more elaborate corn lager than you could ever imagine. In honor of the “American brewing spirit,” they’ve used red, white, and blue heirloom corn malt. They’ve then subjected the mash to a double decoction before adding hops, spunding it (for a natural carbonation), and then lagering things for six weeks. “We wanted to go all out,” says Crooked Run. Yeah, no kidding.

Corn provides a much, much lighter malt than barley or wheat or rye, so it can only get so crazy, flavor-wise, so it’s no surprise that the Labor Days starts simple and pleasant. There’s a tanginess, however, that easily folds into the hop spiciness, giving you a tang/spice bite that builds as you go through the glass. It’s safe to see Crooked Run pitching this brew to be a good cookout beer, and if we’re right, they’ve hit it. Try it with hamburgers and hotdogs.

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