It’s a special time of the year in the Pacific Northwest. Fresh hop beers are everywhere. Oktoberfest events are well underway across the region. With the latest releases from Ground Breaker Brewing, gluten-free craft beer lovers are enjoying the seasonal offerings. The award-winning and certified gluten-free craft brewery out of Portland, Oregon, has released three fresh hop beers and an Oktoberfest-style Märzen lager.

Every late summer, the brewers from Ground Breaker make the trek to Goschie Farms to pick up fresh hops during the harvest. It’s a once-a-year opportunity to make special beers that many consider to be the epitome of Oregon beer.

Epoch

Fresh Hop IPA Brewed With Strata Hops

“I think living in this region it’s easy to take these beers for granted,” said Operations Manager Jesse Bufton. “The truth is that they are unique to our region. In my opinion, they are the defining style of beer for Oregon and Washington.”

Epoch, a West Coast-style India Pale Ale brewed with fresh Strata hops, was released on September 20th in 16-ounce cans. Strata, first released in 2018, was developed by Indie Hops in partnership with Oregon State University. It quickly became a favorite at the brewery.

“We loved this hop from the moment our friends at Indie Hops introduced us to it,” said Founder James Neumeister. “It’s perfect to make a fresh hop beer with.”

Gayle

Fresh Hop IPA Brewed With Crystal Hops

Gayle, an IPA brewed with fresh Crystal hops, is set to be released on October 5th. Available in 16-ounce cans, this beer is named after Gayle Goschie, the President of Goschie Farms. Gayle’s family business has grown hops in Oregon for 120 years.

Epoch and Gayle will be on draft at the Ground Breaker Brewpub on Saturday, October 5th, for a special celebration of fresh hop beers. The brewpub will also be pouring a small batch of their flagship beer, IPA No. 5, dry-hopped with fresh Cascade hops from Goschie Farm.

Amber Lager

Bavarian-inspired Oktoberfest Märzen Lager

Not to be forgotten, Ground Breaker has a release for lager lovers as well. Amber Lager, the brewery’s Oktoberfest-style Märzen lager, was released on September 20th.

Available in a 16-ounce can, this malty Bavarian-inspired lager has become a mainstay in the brewery’s late-summer release schedule. It is currently available on draft at Ground Breaker’s Brewpub, located at 2030 SE 7th Ave. in Portland, Oregon.

Portland, Oregon-based Ground Breaker Brewing, the first 100% dedicated gluten-free brewery in the United States, has captured its first World Beer Cup award at the 2018 awards ceremony. Ground Breaker’s IPA No. 5 won the the Silver award in the Gluten-Free beer category. Awards were given in 101 beer-style categories during the World Beer Cup award ceremony on May 3, 2018 at Music City Center in Nashville, Tenn.

Ground Breaker’s IPA No. 5 won the Silver medal in the Gluten-Free beer category. IPA No. 5 previously won the Silver medal in the Gluten-Free beer category at the 2015 Great American Beer Festival®. “We were very happy to win this medal alongside some other amazing Oregon breweries at this year’s World Beer Cup awards,” said James Neumeister, founder and head of R&D at the gluten-free craft brewery. “We were a little disappointed to see the beer not show at the 2016 World Beer Cup. We know it’s a great beer and we were determined to prove that this year.”

IPA No. 5 is available in a 12 ounce can package

Having studied many of the medal-winning IPAs on the market, the brewers at Ground Breaker knew they needed to give some creative love to their award-winning flagship beer. “IPA No. 5 has such a well-established identity,” remarked Tyler Kueber, head brewer. “We didn’t want to disrupt or change that, but we did want to take another look at the hops and give them a bit of a makeover.” Kueber and the Ground Breaker crew most recently took home a Gold medal in the Gluten-Free category at the 2017 GABF for the brewery’s Dark Ale. “We had the opportunity, thanks to another brewery here in Portland, to bring in some special hops we wouldn’t normally be able to get our hands on. We are fortunate to have such a supportive brewing community, and I think that’s part of the reason why you see Oregon breweries hauling in so many medals every year.”

With the addition of another 15 barrel unitank by the end of May, Ground Breaker will be producing more IPA No. 5 than ever. “With the establishment of our Colorado market, the demand for IPA No. 5, especially in cans, is higher than ever,” said Neumeister. With a World Beer Cup medal to its name, the consumer’s desire for IPA No. 5 will continue to climb.

World Beer Cup winners were selected by an international panel of 295 beer judges from 33 countries, 72 percent of whom were from outside the United States. Widely regarded as the “Olympics of Beer,” the World Beer Cup saw an impressive field of 8,234 entries from 2,515 breweries in 66 countries—the largest competition to date. Presented by the Brewers Association, the World Beer Cup has been held biennially since 1996, to celebrate the art and science of brewing by recognizing outstanding achievement. 
 

(Portland, OR) – Ground Breaker Brewing, the first dedicated gluten-free brewery in the United States, is very excited to announce a partnership with family-owned and operated Artisan Distributing of California. The first shipment will head to California at the end of this week to be exclusively distributed in the Bay Area and Central Valley. Counties include Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Sacramento, San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, and Yolo counties.

“We have been working tirelessly for the last four months to bring our unique beers to California and we’re happy to finally announce this partnership with Artisan,” said James Neumeister, Head of Research & Development. “They are a company who share our values and were highly recommended to us by other breweries we respect. We are thrilled to be expanding into California, it’s something we’ve wanted to do for three years. Artisan is the perfect partner to bring our vision to life."

Expanding availability of their beers wasn’t the only exciting news for Ground Breaker Brewing this week. With their fourth entry in four years, Ground Breaker took home the Silver Medal from the 2015 Great American Beer Festival® in the Gluten-Free Beer category for their IPA No. 5.

Four years, four medals. From left to right. Harvester Brewing Pale Ale (2012 GABF Bronze, Gluten Free), Harvest Brewing IPA No. 1 (2013 GABF Gold, Gluten Free), Ground Breaker IPA No. 5 (2015 GABF Silver, Gluten Free), and Ground Breaker Dark Ale (2014 GABF Gold, Gluten Free).

“American brewers continue to create innovative, flavorful high quality beers. That was on full display at this year’s Great American Beer Festival,” said Chris Swersey, competition manager, Great American Beer Festival. “The Great American Beer Festival continues to showcase the best this country’s brewers have to offer, with the competition growing and becoming ever more competitive. Congratulations to all participants and especially this year’s winners.”

Presented by the Brewers Association, GABF is the largest national beer competition that recognizes the most outstanding beers produced in the United States “It’s fitting one of our first beers to be put in a 12-ounce can package brought home a medal this year,” Neumeister remarked. Ground Breaker launched 12-ounce package in cans for IPA No. 5 and Olallie Ale in June. “Winning four medals in four years means we have a consistently good product, we are staying ahead of our competition.” Ground Breaker Brewing has won twice as many Great American Beer Festival medals as any other brewery in the Gluten-Free Beer category.