Brooklyn Scorcher #366

Brooklyn Scorcher #366 is a very tasty summer pale ale featuring a hop so new that it doesn’t have a real name yet – right now it’s just called “HBC 366”. But this hop does have parents. Jason Perrault of Perrault Farms crossed the Warrior variety with a “wild” hop back in 2001. Jason says: “The brilliant coloration of the leaves combined with a nice growth habit and exceptionally formed cones with abundant lupulin (the repository of all those aromatic oils), resulted in a strikingly beautiful plant.”

Working with the legendary hop breeder Gene Probasco, Jason took cuttings and started growing dozens of plants with fellow grower John I. Haas. Tom Nielsen, hop guru with our friends at Sierra Nevada Brewing, helped them figure out that this new hop was indeed delicious in beer. By 2009, the Smith family of B.T. Loftus Ranches were growing some too, and today “HBC 366” occupies about 1.2 acres of land in the Yakima Valley of Washington.

And here it is! Brooklyn Scorcher #366 is a hoppy pale ale that’s dry, minerally and fruity on the palate, snappy in the center, and bursting with the citrusy, piney notes that make our new pal 366 so special. It’s got as much hop character as an IPA, but at only 4.5%, Scorcher #366 is eminently sessionable, so you can hang out with it all summer. Scorcher #366 loves lobster, shrimp, and crayfish, but will snarf your nachos and fish tacos without the slightest hesitation. Scorcher #366 prefers charcoal but doesn’t hate on propane. Scorcher #366 is not a snob. Scorcher #366 will have another burger and a hot dog.