Ground Breaker Brewing, the first 100% dedicated gluten-free brewery in the United States, has debuted a new logo, new packaging, and a new line of merchandise. Ground Breaker opened in 2011, packaging exclusively into 22 ounce bottles.

In 2015 the brewery introduced a 12 ounce can package for their flagship product, IPA No. 5, as well as the then-new Olallie, a blackberry and rosehip ale. Now the most medal winning gluten-free craft brewery has announced the move to 16 ounce cans for much of their line up.

“We’re now packaging most of our year-round, seasonal and limited-release beers in a 16 ounce can package,” announced James Neumeister, founder and head of R&D at the brewery.

“We tested the waters in 2015 with 12 ounce cans after our successful Yes We Can! Kickstarter campaign,” Neumeister continued. “We knew customers wanted cans because they invested with us in the Kickstarter campaign, and the response from our distribution and retail partners over the last two-and-a-half years has been just as enthusiastic.”

IPA No. 5 and Olallie will continue to be offered in a 12 ounce package. Ground Breaker will also release future Experiment Ale and Roll-Up Door series beers in 16 ounce cans. Their new 16 ounce 4-packs will begin shipping to distribution partners on September 12.

Merchandise featuring Ground Breaker’s new logo is now available for purchase in the Gastropub as well as on their website.  

Neumeister also announced that their award-winning dry-hopped pale ale would be rebranded as Inclusion. “We try to provide a craft beer experience that everyone can enjoy. Inclusion is a name that captures that spirit and conviction which we founded the brewery with. It's a great name for our first beer. It's also the beer we won our first GABF medal with."

The first Experiment Ale Series beers to see the can switch will be fresh hop ales Epoch and Gayle. Epoch features Strata hops which debuted last year out of Oregon State University’s Aroma Hop Breeding Program and were commercialized with the help of Indie Hops, an Oregon-based hop merchant. Gayle features Crystal hops that are grown and harvested locally at Goschie Farms out of Silverton, Oregon.

The second Ground Breaker Brewing release of the year is a Bavarian inspired affair. Dampfbier, a gluten-free ale brewed with weizen yeast, will soon be hitting the shelves. At 4.5% alcohol by volume and 14 IBU it maintains similar spicy and fruit characteristics of Hefeweizen. To put a definitive Pacific Northwest stamp on their rendition, Dampfbier is dry-hopped with Santiam hops to complement the natural banana esters and clove-like phenols produced by the weizen yeast. 

Ground Breaker’s first Experiment Ale Series release saw the brewery successfully deliver on a long-held goal: crafting an American-style Porter in gluten-free form. No to be slowed by the success of Paddy Porter, the 100% dedicated gluten-free craft brewery out of Portland, Oregon is looking to provide something more Continentally inspired for their second seasonal offering of the year. 

Originating in the rural Bavarian Forest region of what is the modern Czech Republic and Germany, Dampfbier is basic and utilitarian. Brewers of the region made beers with 100% barley malt because wheat was expensive and prioritized as food instead of beverage. 

Being a dedicated gluten-free brewery, Ground Breaker’s rendition obviously doesn’t have wheat or barley but that didn’t stop Head Brewer Tyler Kueber from exploring the style. “We’re very excited to bring this lesser-known Bavarian style to the gluten-free community,” remarked Kueber. “This may be the first time that we’ve replicated a style that many traditional beer drinkers may have never experienced themselves.”

Available now in 22 ounce bottles, Dampfbier is an exploration in the diversity of beer, Kueber explained. “Nearly all of our beers are meant to be poured quietly. With this release folks should feel free to rouse Dampfbier before they pour it for more of that weizen flavor.”

Rouse before pouring for that classic flavor and look. 

Portland, Oregon-based Ground Breaker Brewing, the first 100% dedicated gluten-free brewery in the United States, has captured its first World Beer Cup award at the 2018 awards ceremony. Ground Breaker’s IPA No. 5 won the the Silver award in the Gluten-Free beer category. Awards were given in 101 beer-style categories during the World Beer Cup award ceremony on May 3, 2018 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Ground Breaker’s IPA No. 5 won the Silver medal in the Gluten-Free beer category. IPA No. 5 previously won the Silver medal in the Gluten-Free beer category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival®. “We were very happy to win this medal alongside some other amazing Oregon breweries at this year’s World Beer Cup awards,” said James Neumeister, founder and head of R&D at the gluten-free craft brewery. “We were a little disappointed to see the beer not show at the 2016 World Beer Cup. We know it’s a great beer and we were determined to prove that this year.”

IPA No. 5 is available in a 12 ounce can package

Having studied many of the medal-winning IPAs on the market, the brewers at Ground Breaker knew they needed to give some creative love to their award-winning flagship beer. “IPA No. 5 has such a well-established identity,” remarked Tyler Kueber, head brewer. “We didn’t want to disrupt or change that, but we did want to take another look at the hops and give them a bit of a makeover.” Kueber and the Ground Breaker crew most recently took home a Gold medal in the Gluten-Free category at the 2017 GABF for the brewery’s Dark Ale. “We had the opportunity, thanks to another brewery here in Portland, to bring in some special hops we wouldn’t normally be able to get our hands on. We are fortunate to have such a supportive brewing community, and I think that’s part of the reason why you see Oregon breweries hauling in so many medals every year.”

With the addition of another 15 barrel unitank by the end of May, Ground Breaker will be producing more IPA No. 5 than ever. “With the establishment of our Colorado market, the demand for IPA No. 5, especially in cans, is higher than ever,” said Neumeister. With a World Beer Cup medal to its name, the consumer’s desire for IPA No. 5 will continue to climb.

World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 295 beer judges from 33 countries, 72 percent of whom were from outside the United States. Widely regarded as the “Olympics of Beer,” the World Beer Cup saw an impressive field of 8,234 entries from 2,515 breweries in 66 countries—the largest competition to date. Presented by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup has been held biennially since 1996, to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. 
 

The first 2018 release from 100% dedicated gluten-free Ground Breaker Brewing has arrived. Medium bodied with a thick creamy head, Paddy Porter is made with roasted chestnuts, roasted lentils, cacao nibs, and dark roasted rice malt from Eckert Malting & Brewing.

“We’re always looking for additional ingredients to integrate into our brewing process,” said James Neumeister, Head of R&D at Ground Breaker. “When we first began distributing in California I visited Jim and tried his beers. Since then it’s been an aim of ours to find a place to use his malted rice products.”

Releasing a porter has been a goal of Ground Breaker since first opening in 2011. “Dark beers are the most challenging beers to brew gluten-free,” said Tyler Kueber, Head Brewer at Ground Breaker. “Some of the flavors and aromas can be difficult to achieve without barley. With Eckert’s rice malts we are able to bring a lot of that complexity to the beer.”

Paddy Porter will be available on draft and in a 22 ounce bottle. It begins shipping to Ground Breaker territories the last week of January.

About Ground Breaker Brewing
Ground Breaker Brewing is a gluten-free craft brewery and gastropub founded in 2011. They are dedicated to crafting 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 the following territories: OR, WA, ID, CA, VT, ME, MA, RI; in BC and AB, Canada; and Japan. 
http://www.groundbreakerbrewing.com/
http://www.facebook.com/groundbreakerbrewing

About Eckert Malting & Brewing
Owner Jim Eckert, a homebrewer for more than 40 years and a professional agriculture researcher for 30 years, began experimenting with malting rice when his wife learned she had an intolerance for gluten. Based out of Chico, California, Eckert Malting & Brewing was the first maltster in the world to malt and roast rice for brewing. 
https://eckertmaltingandbrewing.com/
http://www.facebook.com/Eckertmaltingandbrewing/