We are pleased to announce the release of Johnny, Ground Breaker’s latest Experiment Ale. Johnny, an ale and cider hybrid, is a light, golden-style ale that finishes at 5% ABV and 27 IBUs. This beer was built to be enjoyed during the hottest days of summer.

“By blending beer and cider we can accentuate the aspects we most appreciate in each,” explains James Neumeister, Ground Breaker’s head of R&D. Johnny begins with a fermenter filled with apple cider and ale wort. The wort has been custom tailored to bring out the best in the blend by emphasizing the hop flavor and body. Once fermentation is complete Johnny is generously dry-hopped with Sterling hops.

Johnny is an homage to all of Ground Breaker’s favorite Johnnies: Johnny D., who built the brewery; Johnny Galecki, considered by many of us to be the best Russ Griswold; Johnny Cash, whose soothing baritone often accompanies a brewday; and Johnny 5, star of one of Oregon’s greatest films.

Johnny will be released in the Ground Breaker Gastropub on Thursday, July 9th on draft and in bottles on July 10th. Bottles of Johnny will head to retailers the following week.

Ground Breaker Brewing, the nation’s first dedicated gluten-free brewery, is pleased to announce the release of their first canned beers. The cans will be available June 13th at the Ground Breaker Gastropub in southeast Portland. The first to be released, Olallie Ale and IPA No.5, will both be available in four-packs of 12 ounce cans.

Head of Research & Development, James Neumeister, has made canning Ground Breaker’s gluten-free beer a top priority. “Since we started the brewery, the number one request has been for a 12 ounce package. We are happy to finally give our customers what they want,” he said. Canning Ground Breaker’s beers was made possible by the generous support of fans through a crowdfunding campaign this past winter. They would like to extend a large thank you to everybody who pitched in to make their dream a reality.

Ground Breaker Brewing is especially excited to offer their newest beer, Olallie Ale, in a 12 ounce can. Neumeister explains, “Olallie Ale was designed from the beginning to be served in a can and on draft. Olallie has been kept light and dry while maintaining a pronounced hop aroma. The rose hips provide the bridge between the hops and the blackberries making it all work.”

While the award-winning dedicated gluten-free brewery is successfully launching their 12 ounce products, they’re also seeking help from their gluten-free fans in California. The brewery has been unsuccessful in finding a distributor willing to offer their beers in the state. “We have been trying to establish a relationship with a craft beer distributor since last year with no success,” Neumeister said. “The craft beer distributors in California do not seem to believe Californians would want our delicious gluten-free craft beer.”

Ground Breaker Brewing has decided to appeal to the masses by urging individuals in California to ask their local stores, restaurants, and pubs to please carry their beers. They hope to generate enough interest so distributors will decide to sell their award-winning offerings, especially now that Olallie Ale and IPA No. 5 will be available in an easy to transport 12-ounce package.

Ground Breaker Releases Luella April 8th
 
Ground Breaker Brewing is pleased to announce the release of Luella, a Belgian-style pale ale. Luella was brewed to be enjoyed as spring transitions into summer. In the tradition of a Belgian pale ale, Luella finishes dry but offers a perceived candy sweetness with aromas of grape and bread, spice from a late addition of Sterling hops, and a bit of Belgian funkiness to round it out. Luella finishes at 5.7% ABV with only 22 IBUs.
 
The idea for Luella began with the simple question of what kind of beer we would want to drink this summer. We knew we wanted to make something very different from what we already offer, but we weren’t sure what that should be. On bottling days we discussed aromas, flavors, and ingredients until we settled on something we liked the sound of, a Belgian pale ale. It’s a first for us, and it’s something we’re very excited to share. The name Luella comes from Luella Love, who started Love Farm with her husband John in 1905.
 
Luella will be released in our pub on Wednesday, April 8th, with a Belgian-inspired menu. During the release, Ground Breaker Gastropub will be offering a Belgian-style beer flight featuring Luella, our last keg of St. Denny, and two variations of Luella, one aged with apricots and one aged with currants.

We are pleased to announce the launch of our Kickstarter campaign that will allow us to start canning our delicious gluten-free craft ales.
 
More information on our Kickstarter campaign can be found here: YES WE CAN
 
We plan to launch canning with our best selling beer, IPA No. 5, and our latest beer, Olallie Ale.  Olallie is making its first appearance tonight, in the Ground Breaker Gastropub.
 
Olallie was developed from the beginning with canning in mind. Olallie is brewed with blackberries and rose hips and then finished with copious amounts of Crystal hops for a classic Northwest aroma.  At the same time Olallie is light and dry with only a hint of bitterness.  Olallie Ale is 4.5% ABV and 30 IBUs.

“Many of our customers have expressed an interest in a light berry beer” explains Ground Breaker’s Head of R&D, James Neumeister. "We knew that it had to have a pronounced hop aroma if we were going to like it. Rose hips provided the bridge between the hops and the blackberries that make it all work."

On Thursday, February 12th, we will be celebrating the release of Olallie Ale by offering a berry beer flight that includes Corsa Rose Gold, New Planet Raspberry Ale, and Dogfish Head Tweason’ Ale.  Olallie Ale will only be available on draft and in bottles at our pub until we are able to offer it in a 12 ounce can.

Ground Breaker Releases Coffee Pale Ale January 15th
 
Ground Breaker Brewing is pleased to announce the release of their Spring seasonal, Coffee Pale Ale.  To create this beer Ground Breaker started with their award-winning Pale Ale and then added cold-brewed coffee from Equal Exchange rather than the typical dry-hops. Coffee Pale Ale comes in at 30 IBU and 5.5% ABV.
 
The combination of Equal Exchange’s Medium Peruvian roast coffee with our Pale Ale was selected as the winning combination by the guests in our pub. “Having our own pub gave us the ability to try several coffee/beer combinations and get an immediate response from our fans,” said Ground Breaker’s head of R&D, James Neumeister. He continued, “We had assumed that blending coffee with our Dark Ale would be the obvious winner but no other coffee beer we made matched the positive response we received using this pale ale and coffee combination.”
 
For the release Ground Breaker will be offering a flight that includes three pub only beers.  The second beer in the flight is Vanilla Cream Coffee Pale Ale, a small batch of Coffee Pale Ale that has vanilla beans and milk sugar. The final two beers in the flight are brewed with teas from The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company.  Dancing Dragon Pale Ale uses a puerh tea blended with sarsaparilla, roasted yerba mate, and honeybush. Ruby Nectar Pale Ale uses an herbal tea that is a blend of organic greenbush, organic hibiscus, organic peppercorns, bee pollen, natural flavor, grapefruit essential oil, and stevia. Coffee Pale Ale will be released at The Ground Breaker Gastropub during an event with Equal Exchange on January 15th from 5 pm until 8 pm. Equal Exchange will be providing chocolate to taste with the Coffee Pale Ale flight.  
 
About Equal Exchange
Equal Exchange, a pioneer in Fair Trade since 1986, is a full service provider of high quality, organic coffee, tea, chocolate and other foods to customers across the United States. 100% of Equal Exchange products are fairly traded, benefiting more than 75 small farmer co-operatives in 40 countries around the world. Beans for this Coffee Pale Ale come from Peru, where Equal Exchange has partnered with Cooperativa Nor Andino for nearly 15 years. http://equalexchange.coop/
 
About The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company
Since 2004 The Jasmine Pearl Tea Company has been importing and handcrafting specialty loose-leaf tea blends in Portland, Oregon. Their specialty is providing the highest quality teas and herbal tisanes to gourmet retailers, restaurants, spas and individuals. Most of their teas are harvested and blended in small quantities, which allows them to share the freshest rare and seasonal teas. The Jasmine Pearl Tea Tasting Room is located at 724 NE 22nd Avenue, Portland, Oregon. http://www.jasminepearlblog.com/