Peak is a small craft brewing company dedicated to making delicious, handcrafted ales using only the finest artisanal ingredients.
With roots in home brewing back in the 90s, brewer Jon Cadoux set about combining his love for beer with an ethic for sustainability. Whenever possible, he would go out and find ingredients from local organic farmers for his homebrews. It was a defining day when Jon discovered that you don’t need to sacrifice flavor for sustainability, but that better ingredients actually made the beer more delicious.
Archive for October, 2009
About Peak Brewery
Friday, October 30th, 2009About Peak Brewery
Friday, October 30th, 2009Fortunately it wasn’t hard to find good people on brew days to experiment and enjoy the fruits of their labor. From longtime friends to college buddies, and even his brother, a kinship was forged to share in this quest to make delicious organic beer. Many of those people are still part of the company today.
About Peak Brewery
Friday, October 30th, 2009Gradually, we came up with a name for the moments we all shared over our craft: Peak Experiences. Beers in hand, we found ourselves celebrating the end of a great day outdoors, adventurous past travels, or a favorite meal with friends and family. We liked these moments so much we decided to put Peak Experience photos on all of our packaging. We invite all of you to share your Peak Experiences with us here. Send us a shot and you could find yourself on a beer bottle.
About Peak Brewery
Friday, October 30th, 2009Now, brewing out of Portland, Maine, we’re proud to be part of a craft beer renaissance. It’s an exciting time for American craft brewers, who are creating some of the best beers in the world. Peak is contributing to this movement with contemporary takes on traditional styles of beer, and innovative flavors that have never been brewed before. If you read about our beers, you’ll see we love to collaborate with other local purveyors, organic farmers, creative chefs, and like-minded organizations to create a tasty beer in the best way possible. In 2009, Peak helped Maine farmers cultivate commercial hops, the first such harvest since 1880. We take great pride in the fact that these hops were organic.
About Peak Brewery
Friday, October 30th, 2009To this day, our mission at Peak remains simple: to make delicious, creative brews that we can feel good about. We hope you enjoy them and remind you to find time to celebrate the Peak Experiences in your life.
pale ale
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009Our Pale Ale is a complex hybrid between a West-Coast Pale Ale and a British-Style Pale Ale. An abundance of Cascade Hops gives this beer a citrusy, floral nose. We use a high percentage of Caramel Malt to provide a stark contrast to the hoppy front palate, giving our pale ale a smooth, malty finish.
ABV: 5.1% IBUs: 44
Suggested food pairing: Spicy food, sushi, chicken, pork, hummus, mild cheeses, herb cheeses, fruity desserts
Photos by Ben Rosamond
Food by Chef Dave Townsend
winter session ale
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009This winter wheat beer uses dark malting to provide subtle toasty notes. We then single-hop and dry-hop this beer with Citra hops from our friend Brad’s farm. Interesting pineapple notes from the Citra hop provide a stark contrast to the toasty notes in the body. An engaging and sessionable Winter Seasonal.
ABV: 5% IBUs: 62
hop noir
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009Hop Noir is a delectable Black IPA, dripping with piney, aromatic Centennial hops. The malt base is dark and rich, anchored by organic black malt. This provides a strong foundation for the extravagant kettle hopping and dry-hopping that this beer experiences. Enjoy with a night-light.
ABV: 8.2% IBUs: 98
Suggested Food Pairings: Brie, grilled vegetables, lamb shank, pungent cheeses
fall summit ale
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009This autumn ale is a showcase of the mighty Summit™ hop. Our friend Jason grows amazing Summits that combine pine, spice and captivating citrus aromas. A good dose of toasted malts provides warm, rich flavors to contrast the hops on the front palate. Cold fermentation gives a surprisingly crisp finish. We hope you enjoy this unique fall brew.
ABV: 5.7% IBUs: 64
Suggested Food Pairings: Hearty autumn dishes, fall vegetable roasts, butternut squash, fresh harvest apples, gouda cheese.
summer session ale
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009A traditional summer wheat beer marries a West Coast pale ale. Locally grown wheat provides a complex mouthfeel and Amarillo® dry hopping gives a citrusy aroma.
ABV: 5% IBUs: 61
Suggested Food Pairings: Seafood, Spicy Food, Pasta dishes and anything summery!
Photos by Ben Rosamond
Food by Chef Dave Townsend
local series
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009This series is a celebration of tasty local ingredients and distinctive terroir. We brewed four beers, each with barley and hops from one particular state (Maine, Vermont, Massachusetts and New York). Each beer in the series was brewed according to a similar recipe, to achieve an ale that is assertively-hopped and dry-hopped, but also bold in its malt character. Since the recipe is consistent, the flavor difference in each beer results from the distinctive local terroir. Working with skilled farmers to craft this series has been an exceptional experience for us. We hope you enjoy the result.
Abv: 6.9% IBU 67
oak aged mocha stout
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009This is an extravagant, immoderate beer. We mixed together our three favorite things – beer, chocolate, and coffee. A rich stout serves as a backbone, with organic black malt and chocolate malt providing a luscious foundation. During the boil, we add artisan chocolate from your friends at Taza. During conditioning, we add coffee from our friends at Coffee by Design. Then, this concoction is oak-aged, resulting in soft vanilla notes. We hope you enjoy this beer as much as we do.
ABV: 8.4 % IBUs: 22
Suggested Food Pairings: Delectable Deserts, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, and Salted Pretzels
simcoe® spring ale
Wednesday, October 7th, 2009We love the piney, fruity flavors of Simcoe® hops. This is a classic pale ale, single-hopped and dry-hopped with Simcoe. We cold condition this beer and give it a restrained malt profile, so the hops really pop, like flora in spring. Our friends Patrick, Jason and Brad grow these luscious hops and we hope you enjoy them as much as we do.
ABV: 5.4% IBUs: 66
Suggested food pairings: Risotto, Fish Tacos, Lamb, Salmon
IPA
Tuesday, October 6th, 2009This unique India Pale Ale features our favorite hops—Simcoe®, Amarillo® and Nugget. A generous Amarillo and Simcoe dry hop provide for an assertive, hop-forward nose and front palate. We don’t use traditional bittering hops in our IPA, providing nothing but stimulating citrus and floral characteristics.
Inspired by a recipe from our good friend and fellow homebrewer Tim from the North Shore Homebrewers Club.
ABV: 7.2% IBUs: 76
Suggested Food Pairings: Spicy foods, pesto, smoked meats, mild cheddar or mild blue cheese, gorgonzola
Photos by Ben Rosamond
Food by Chef Dave Townsend
nut brown ale
Monday, October 5th, 2009Our Nut Brown Ale starts out very smooth, like an English-style Brown Ale. The use of Chocolate Malt, Munich Malt, and Hallartau Hops give this beer a crisp, nutty finish. Peak Nut Brown is a delectable beer loaded with complex, differentiated flavors that don’t overwhelm the palate, making it a perfect dark beer for food pairing.
ABV: 4.7% IBUs: 21
Suggested Food Pairing: Hearty courses, beef, roasted pork, pastas with red sauce, creamy soups, aged/strong cheeses, smoked gouda
Photos by Ben Rosamond
Food by Chef Dave Townsend
amber ale
Sunday, October 4th, 2009Our Amber Ale is designed to start bright and lively from an abundance of Crystal Malts. We establish a strong contrast between front palate and back palate by adding generous amounts of Munich Malt, which provides a distinct toasty finish.
ABV: 4.9% IBUs: 37
Suggested Food Pairing: Grilled meats/veggies, smoked fish, poultry, burgers, port-salut or tangy cheese
Photos by Ben Rosamond
Food by Chef Dave Townsend
maple collaboration
Saturday, October 3rd, 2009Peak Maple Collaboration is a truly local project. It’s a new twist on our previously brewed Maple Oat Ale. We worked with local farmers and small businesses to craft this beer with Maine-grown organic oats from GrandyOats and Vermont-produced organic maple syrup from Butternut Mountain Farms. The Maple Collaboration is a copper-colored brew with a dynamic mouth feel from the organic oats and a subtle richness in the finish from the organic maple syrup. The beer is in support of Chefs Collaborative, the nation’s leading environmentally conscious culinary organization.
ABV: 6.7% IBUs: 26
Suggested Food Pairing: Meats with sweet marinade, salmon, bratwurst, chicken, mild English cheese
espresso amber ale
Friday, October 2nd, 2009A robust amber ale brewed with locally roasted, organic fair trade espresso with help from our friends down the street at Coffee by Design. This malty amber ale is brewed with substantial amounts of Munich Malt, providing a perfect backbone for the rich, roasty flavor imparted by the espresso.
Peak Espresso Amber is the first Fair Trade Certified beer brewed in the United States. Read more here.
ABV: 7% IBUs: 22
Suggested Food Pairing: Brunch items, BBQ, vanilla ice cream, chocolate cake
king crimson
Thursday, October 1st, 2009King Crimson is an Imperial Red Ale that delivers a royal bounty of luscious, fruity American hops on top of a sturdy, deep red malt backbone. This beer is lavishly dry-hopped with Simcoe, adding a citrusy and piney flavor and aroma to the toasty, sweet malt notes. This special treat is a very limited Winter release, so enjoy it while you can!
Tim Adams, our Mid-Atlantic man by day, and research and developer by night, created this recipe in his kitchen.
ABV: 9.5% IBUs: 90
Suggested Food Pairings: spicy appetizers, grilled meat, asiago cheese, peppery cheeses, chocolate dessert
pomegranate wheat ale
Thursday, October 1st, 2009Peak Pomegranate Wheat is a refreshing, yet intricate ale brewed with locally grown organic wheat, organic coriander and a touch of organic Pomegranate and Acai juice from our friends at Sambazon. Not as sweet as many fruit beers, the Pomegranate Wheat has a soft, round mouthfeel from the local, un-malted wheat. The spice from the coriander and the subtle sweetness from the Pomegranate and Açai are a perfect complement. Read more here
ABV: 5.9% IBUs: 19
Suggested Food Pairing: Lighter courses, salad, vegetable dishes, fruit courses, chevre goat cheese, mozzarella