Wicked Weed’s Head Brewer Luke Dickinson has worked for months to source ingredients and developed nine new beers that the brewery will release throughout the month of June.
“I was inspired by the idea of the whole world coming together for one event,” says Luke. “The World Cup gives us a unique opportunity to showcase beer styles from around the world and celebrate them in an interesting way."
The styles and ingredients of each of the beers range from a take on Ethiopian Tej honey wine to a traditional South American corn beer called chicha to a light pepper beer made with three varieties of hot peppers as a nod to Mexico.
"One interesting beer we are brewing is a Peruvian chicha ale. It will be made with a variety of traditional spices including spearmint, cinnamon, and clove. It’s a style of beer that varies greatly across South America so nailing down one single recipe isn’t possible, a fact that gives us great flexibility. And to preemptively answer the inevitable question, no,” laughs Luke, “we aren’t going to chew the corn like Dogfish.”
Other notable ingredients include chanterelle mushrooms sourced from France for a French saison; limes and sugar cane paired to create a beer inspired by Caipirinha, Brazil’s national cocktail; and an English bitter brewed with yeast that brothers Luke and Walt Dickinson brought back from the U.K. when they went to brew in England in February.
The World Cup series is being released over the next few weeks, each week bringing on two or three new World Cup Series of Beers. The first tapping started at 4 p.m. on Thursday, June 12, to coincide with the kickoff of the game between Brazil and Croatia. Below is the schedule of beers, along with their specific inspirations and ingredients of interest.
Week of June 12
Country of inspiration: Brazil
Concept: To create a Caipirinha-inspired ale
Ingredients of interest: Sugar cane rods and lime zest from thirty pounds of limes
Country of Inspiration: France
Concept: A saison brewed with French hops, French yeast, and French mushrooms (chanterelles)
Ingredients of interest: French Aramis hops, French saison yeast, and chanterelles sourced from France
Week of June 19
Country of Inspiration: Mexico
Concept: A light, spicy beer brewed with cilantro
Ingredients of interest: Anaheim, Fresno, and habañero chilies, and cilantro
Country of Inspiration: Germany
Concept: Traditional Bavarian Hefeweizen made with two uncommon German hops
Ingredients of interest: Mandarina Bavaria and Huell Melon hops and Bavarian Hefeweizen yeast
Country of Inspiration: Australia
Concept: A 7% ABV ale brewed with five types of New Zealand or Australian hops and lemon myrtle
Ingredients of interest: Orbit, Green Bullet, Wakatu, Pacific Gem, and Pacific Jade hops and lemon myrtle
Week of June 26
Country of Inspiration: England
Concept: An English bitter brewed with yeast brought back from Everards brewery in the U.K. when the Dickinson brothers brewed there this past February
Ingredients of interest: East Kent Golding hops, Everards brewery house strain of yeast, and Maris Otter malt
Country of inspiration: Peru
Concept: Wicked Weed’s take on the Peruvian chicha beer with numerous traditional spices
Ingredients of interest: Corn and barley base with spearmint, cinnamon, clove, and lemon zest
Country of Inspiration: Ethiopia
Concept: Brew a beer based on Tej, a honey wine that originates in Ethiopia made with gesho root
Ingredients of interest: Gesho root and 300 pounds of orange blossom honey and wild blossom honey
Photos courtesy of Wicked Weed Brewing