Alternative Strategies

Orignal 40's Steven Teran brews up their version of Soo Breezy

Collaborations are common among many of San Diego’s best breweries, but The Original 40 Brewing Company and TapRoom Beer Company have found a way to incorporate a little friendly competition into a cross-promotional tactic. Soo Breezy West Coast Pale Ale is a “Side-by-Side Trial Beer” that each brewery made using the same recipe — including the new Gambrinus IPA malt that, so far, had not been widely available — but with different Amarillo hops.

The Original 40 version of Soo Breezy added T90 Amarillo from Virgil Gamache Farms, while TapRoom used Flowable Amarillo from Totally Natural Solutions. Perhaps the most notable difference between the two hops is that the T90 Amarillo comes in pellet from while Flowable Amarillo is an extract.

Steven Terán, a brewer at Original 40, explains that the idea for the collab originated with the Brewers Supply Group (BSG), “The craft beer industry is an ever-evolving entity, and new products and or procedures are always being put out to market for brewers to use outside of lab settings. Brewers Supply Group has been working with Gambrinus Malting Company to develop this new malt specifically tailored for IPA/hop-forward beers. When something like that happens, reps from these companies reach out to accounts to ask if they would be willing to incorporate a collab brew into their already busy brew schedule. The breweries that are able to accommodate have the opportunity to be one of the first people to try these new products and give performance feedback to the companies.”

Both versions of the West Coast Pale Ale come in at 5.4% ABV and are golden yellow with a light orange hue. Original 40’s Soo Breezy boasts a bouquet of tangerines and tropical citrus with hints of apricot and melon, along with a mellow pine dankness to balance it out. TapRoom’s Soo Breezy, on the other hand, features a clean expression of pine and citrus rind and a subtle mango sweetness.

Both breweries located in North Park, a mere 1.5 miles apart, so it would not be difficult for people to visit each and do their own assessments of the differences between the two ales. Original 40’s Head Brewer, Zack Kaplan, encourages precisely this, “We hope beer enthusiasts will head to North Park and try both versions of the beer. We would love for everyone to give us feedback, something we as brewers are always looking for. We always want to grow and improve for our fans.”

Dan Cady, Head Brewer at TapRoom, agrees, “We just think there is something so cool about Soo Breezy. We hope everyone will be as eager as we were to try the two takes of the beer. We want to hear from everyone who visits San Diego’s great craft beer hub of North Park.” Soo Breezy is available on tap at TapRoom and Original 40 and available in four-packs of 16-oz cans at Original 40.