Just over a year ago, Smuttynose collaborated with Stone Brewing Co. to brew a beer called Cluster's Last Stand. Inspired by Mitch Steele's comprehensive book on India Pale Ale, this recreation of the original Ballantine IPA recipe was brewed for research purposes and so we could put to use a beer name we'd been sitting on for over five years. Luckily, Mitch, Greg Koch and Steve Wagner; the Stone brain trust, were on board for a 30 barrel batch.
Not very many folks got to drink Cluster's Last Stand, but a lot of people sure wanted to. Our email inbox and social media channels were full of messages from people far and wide who wanted to get this old school hoppiness in their beer glasses. We were certainly game to brew more Cluster's, but we simply didn't have the capacity at Heritage Ave. Now that we're up and running in our new home at Towle Farm, we called Team Stone for their second thumbs and we began taking pre-orders.
After doing some math, we scheduled 7 batches in order to make the 540 barrels of beer we needed. That's the equivalent of almost 100,000 22oz bottles in this limited edition re-brew. We will be splitting the batch into both 22-ounce bottles and kegs, so you can enjoy a pint at your favorite bar or restaurant, as well as in the comfort of your own home. Bottles will first release at our Towle Farm Smerch store for $9 each, with wholesaler orders rolling out shortly after.
Cluster's Last Stand Stats
8.8% abv 62 IBU
Malts: North American 2-Row, Flaked Maize, Munich 10L, C-60
Hops: Bittering- Cluster, Flavor- Brewer's Gold and East Kent Golding, Dry Hop-Bullion
Yeast: American ale yeast
Production: 540 barrels packaged in 22 ounce bottles, 5.2 gallon kegs and 15.5 gallon kegs.
Distribution: CA, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, Germany, IL, IN, Italy, KY, MA, MD, ME, MI, NC, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, Puerto Rico, RI, SC, South Korea, TN, United Kingdom, VA, VT, WI
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