Ground Breaker Brewing is doubling up on the fresh hop fun. Epoch, a fresh hop IPA brewed with Strata hops, is due to hit store shelves in the third week of September. In early October, Ground Breaker will release Gayle, a fresh hop IPA brewed with Crystal hops. Epoch and Gayle will join Ground Breaker’s Experiment Ale Series. 

Strata, at one time known as X-331, is an aroma hop that was developed over 7 years in cooperation between Indie Hops and Oregon State University. High-yielding and bursting with tropical fruit and herbal dank aroma, this brand-new be-all hop has the brewing industry abuzz with anticipation. “We were very excited to get our hands on this amazing new Oregon-developed hop variety,” said Tyler Kueber, head brewer at Ground Breaker. “Going into the hop back it smelled great, going into the tank it smelled even better. I am very happy for this opportunity to provide a new hop experience for the gluten-free community.”

After releasing one gluten-free fresh hop beer for the last two years, Ground Breaker made the decision to distribute two this fresh hop season. “Gayle was very successful last year and we knew we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to play with a new aroma hop,” said James Neumeister, founder of Ground Breaker Brewing. “We love the tropical fruit aroma hops that are becoming available, but we’re still fans that Northwest forest aroma. Why not provide both?”

Epoch IPA and Gayle IPA will be distributed in a 22-ounce package in Ground Breaker territory. 

Gluten-free beer lovers can try both Ground Breaker fresh hop IPAs as well as an “estate” fresh hop blonde ale at Ground Breaker’s first Gluten-Free Fresh Hop Festival. The festival will take place at the gastropub located at 2030 SE 7th Ave Portland, OR 97214, on September 30 from 12pm-9pm. 

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About Ground Breaker Brewing
Ground Breaker Brewing is a gluten-free craft brewery and Gastropub founded in 2011. They are dedicated to making 100% gluten-free beer; using ingredients which are naturally gluten-free and allowing no gluten in their facility. Ground Breaker has won a medal in the gluten-free category at the Great American Beer Festival® each year they have entered. The gastropub is located at 2030 SE 7th Ave. in Portland, OR. Ground Breaker’s beers are distributed in OR, WA, ID, CA, VT, ME, MA, RI, BC, AB and Japan.
https://www.groundbreakerbrewing.com/
facebook.com/groundbreakerbrewing

About Goschie Farms
Goschie Farms, nestled within the hills of the Pacific Northwest's scenic Willamette Valley, has been a fixture in the Oregon farming community for 130 years. The farm's current location was established by Herman and Vernice Goschie. It is now managed year-round by three of their children: Gordon, Gayle, and Glenn in addition to a cadre of wonderful team members. Frequently cited as an example for sustainable farming practices, Goschie Farms was the first hop farm in the nation to be certified as Salmon-Safe and now grows all of its crops in accordance with salmon-safe guidelines.
http://goschiefarms.com/hops.html

About Indie Hops
Indie Hops supplies Oregon-grown aroma hops to craft brewers. The Willamette Valley's rich alluvial soils, long summer days, family operated century farms, and pioneering spirit all combine to create the environment where world-class aroma hops thrive, in a culture that naturally supports craft brewing.
http://indiehops.com/

Gluten-free beer enthusiasts in Ground Breaker distributed territories far and wide will have the chance to try Imperial Darkness, a 9% ABV imperial stout. Initially released in January, this bold gluten-free beer was sold exclusively through their Gastropub location in Portland, Oregon and online through Bring on the Beer. Imperial Darkness.

“This recipe was over a year in development,” remarked James Neumeister, head of R&D. “Our first release was exclusively for our Yes We Can! Kickstarter Release Party. We released it under our Roll Up Door Series earlier this year, and we’re excited to give this Roll Up Door Series beer the wide distribution it deserves.”

Imperial Darkness is made with deeply roasted chestnuts, lentils, and cacao nibs. Fermented with generous amounts of vanilla and cold-brewed Equal Exchange coffee, this beer has a complex wave of cocoa, coffee, vanilla, and caramel flavor and aroma. With 62 IBU, Nugget and Willamette hops provide just enough bittering for a well-balanced imperial stout.

“We've been doing ingredient research with our Taproom Exclusives since we opened,” said Tyler Kueber, head brewer at Ground Breaker. “It's exciting to take all that we've learned with flavor, aroma and technique on the small batch system and scale it up in production.” 

Kueber makes the point that it’s not just about pushing the envelope in terms of ingredients and technique but also bringing the results to Ground Breaker fans in territories outside of Portland, Oregon. “Each bottle of Imperial Darkness is taking the flavor experience of our small batch brews that are found in the pub and distributing those flavor experiences to our fans in other states and even other countries,” declared Kueber. 

Imperial Darkness began shipping to Ground Breaker territories August 7.

Route 20 IPA, a single-hop India Pale Ale, returns at Ground Breaker Brewing. Named after the longest continuous road in the United States, this gluten-free IPA clocks in at 50 IBU and 6% alcohol by volume. Route 20 is a unique IPA that was designed to get all of its bittering, flavor and aroma from late additions of Santiam hops. Santiam hops, known for their floral aroma, carry hints of peppery spice. The hop is unique for its high amounts of farnesene which produces a fragrance that has been compared to magnolia flowers. Farnesene is found in strawberries, apples, pears, and many other plants.
 
The road that is this IPA’s namesake spans an incredible 3,365 miles from Newport, Oregon to Boston, Massachusetts. “It was probably the shortest amount of time we’ve ever spent naming anything. I was on my way to Steens Mountain, heading through the Santiam Pass,” said James Neumeister, Founder and Head of R&D. “That’s when the name came to me.”

With this year’s release of Route 20 IPA, Ground Breaker is celebrating this coast-to-coast IPA by pouring it at the Gluten Free and Allergy Friendly Expo in Worcester, MA. The Gluten Free and Allergy Friendly Expo is the largest gluten-free and allergy friendly event in the United States. 
 
Route 20 IPA is currently available at the Ground Breaker Gastropub in Portland, OR and will begin to be distributed to Ground Breaker territories in the second week of July. Ground Breaker beers are distributed in Massachusetts by Atlantic Distributing.

Ground Breaker is growing, but the demand for 100% gluten-free craft beer is growing faster. We continue in our efforts to bring award-winning gluten-free craft beers to all 50 states, but in the meantime we wanted to create something that could be shared with gluten-free craft beer lovers everywhere. This gluten-free homebrew recipe is the culmination of that effort.

Photo by Darren Black

Gluten-Free Homebrew Recipe - This is a BeerXML file, compatible with brewing software (BeerSmith, Brewtarget, BeerAlchemy, etc). We have also made a PDF available. 

How do you increase body and mouthfeel when brewing gluten-free beer at home? The question that helped inform this recipe. When craft beer enthusiasts come into the brewpub to try out our beers, we often hear this question. Founder James Neumeister was recently invited onto Denny Conn & Drew Beechum’s Experimental Homebrewing podcast to answer this very question. 
 
After his guest appearance on the show, James decided to release to the world a basic gluten-free homebrew recipe. This recipe uses a malted sorghum syrup backbone (available at any homebrew supply store) with enhanced body provided by home-roasted lentils and gluten-free buckwheat groats that you can find at most grocery stores. A good beer in its own right, it was designed as a versatile base beer that could be enhanced with fruit, spices, and varieties of hops or yeast. 
 

Portland is very lucky to be hosting the first ever Gluten-Free Bloggers Retreat. To add to all the excitement, our amazing Pastry Chef Dori Oliver is sharing another gluten-free recipe with everyone. 

Gluten-Free Double Chocolate Brownies
Yield: 8
Description: Gluten-free and dairy-free chocolate brownies
Author/Source: Recipe by Ground Breaker

Chocolate chips are frequently made on shared equipment with gluten. Check to make sure your chips are certified gluten-free.

Photo by Darren Black

Ingredients

• 9 oz. evaporated cane sugar
• 4.5 oz. dark chocolate chips  
• 2.5 oz. coconut oil
• 3 large eggs
• 2.5  oz. Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free 1-1 Baking Flour
• .75 oz. non-alkalized coco powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Position a medium-sized mixing bowl over a pot of simmering water so as to create a double-boiler. Add sugar, chocolate chips, and coconut oil. Stir occasionally until the chips are melted. Remove from heat.

2. Add the eggs to the melted chocolate mixture. Use a whisk to incorporate the eggs. Scrape down the bowl.

3. Add the flour, coco powder, and salt. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to fold in the dry ingredients.

4. Lightly coat 8 muffin molds with non-stick spray; alternately, use a 9x9 inch glass baking dish. Divide the batter evenly between the molds, or add to the pan.

5. Cooking.

6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. About 25- 35 minutes.

7. Cool completely before removing from molds or pan.