Bronx SMASH Imperial

“We knew we were using a pretty rare Danish rye malt, so we wanted to showcase that alongside the New York-grown hops. We also generally brew pale ales around 6 percent ABV, so we wanted something a bit bigger for Beer Week. The result is our Imperial Rye IPA, a balance of the unique spiciness of amber rye malt with piney, slightly citrusy and resiny hop contributions. This was our first brew with grain from Valley Malt and, while we have used NYS/NYC-grown hops for some of our specialty cask beers before, this was our first production brew with NYS hops. I was very pleased with how the SMASH beer turned out. It’s definitely nice to use local raw materials and showcase that local terroir. The SMASH project gives us as brewers an opportunity to show consumers how versatile various different malts and hops can be and how creative different brewers can be in utilizing them. A pretty wide range of beers were brewed with the same three malts and three hops. For consumers my hope is that there is a growing appreciation for what goes into the beers they drink and that they continue to support local in as many ways as possible without sacrificing quality and consistency standards.” Damian Brown, co-owner and brewmaster