In 1974, Larry Sidor walked into Olympia Brewing Company wearing galoshes. Two decades later, he ran out. He couldn’t take dumbing down lagers anymore. He found happier times at Deschutes Brewery, developing legendary recipes such as The Dissident, The Abyss and Red Chair. In 2012, he and Paul Evers opened Crux Fermentation Project in a former AAMCO transmission shop in Bend, Oregon, with the complete freedom to brew whatever they desired, and by desire that meant sublime IPAs, complex barrel-aged Flanders reds and restrained pilsners. They designed the brewery for non-traditional brewing methods such as decoction mashing, open fermentation, oak barrel aging, wild yeast strains and experimental hops. Proudly, they bottled and labeled by hand in small batches right at the brewery. Today, Peaks and Pints salutes Crux with a beer flight we call Craft Beer Crosscut 4.17.18: a Flight of Crux Fermentation Project.
Crux PCT Porter
5.5% ABV, 30 IBU
The Pacific Crest Trail stretches from the Mexican border to the Canadian border, covering more than 2,600 miles along the way. On average, it takes thru-hikers about five months to complete the trek. Most hikers start in the south, and by the time they make it into Oregon, they’ve built up a mighty powerful thirst. Enough PCT hikers stop in Bend, Oregon for a shower, a civilized meal and craft beer that Crux decided to brew PCT Porter just for them and the organization that supports the hikers, Pacific Crest Trail Association. Kick off the hiking boots, pull one of these out of our cooler and enjoy this velvety, chocolate porter with a small bitter bite at the back.
Crux TripelCross
7.5% ABV, 30 IBU
Belgian beers are unique in their fruity, spicy, warming flavors, and over the centuries, the monks of Belgium have perfected their brewing and left an indelible mark on the beer world. Crux Fermentation Project brewed a Belgian-style tripel that is, well, we’ll just say surprisingly sippable. Tripelcross is lighter in body and strength than typical tripels. It’s inviting. Swirl it around in the glass a bit before sipping; you’ll find a yeasty aroma with hints of light fruit and pepper. There’s sweetness (in part from the candi sugar) that combines very well with light biscuit tones of the malt. In the finish there’s a hint of pepper spice and light dryness — another character of the style.
Crux Cast Out India Pale Ale
7.6% ABV, 60 IBU
Crux’s Cast Out IPA features the Galaxy hop from Australia, a country famously populated by England’s cast out convicts. Cast Out IPA employs these hops aggressively from hop back to dry hopping stages. Yet the result is a balanced and bronzy ale, with medium hop bitterness complemented by moderate maltiness, showcasing aromas and flavors reminiscent of passion fruit.
Crux Coco(A) Stout
8% ABV, 60 IBU
“Invention, my dear friends, is 93 percent perspiration, 6 percent electricity, 4 percent evaporation, and 2 percent butterscotch ripple.” Those are the words of Gene Wilder in Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory. Brewing beer in the Northwest could be said to be much the same, especially these days, when creative beer makers are turning porters and stouts into desserts. While the notion of a sweet beer may be sickening to those who prefer their hops, malt and water to be unadorned by ingredients more commonly seen in the sticky hands of children on Halloween, there are many more beer lovers whose sweet teeth just can’t be satiated. Crux Fermentation Project Coco(A) Stout isn’t for the later folks. This triple-chocolate imperial stout brewed with chocolate malt, infused with cocoa powder, and then “dry-hopped” with cocoa nibs, vanilla beans and toasted coconut isn’t overly sweet, but rather restrained chocolate with a touch of bitterness on the end. It’s perfect.
Crux [BANISHED] Tough Love
11.5% ABV, 70 IBU
The fifth vintage of “Tough Love,” Crux’s barrel-aged imperial stout, is constructed with dark roasted malts, malted rye and oak-smoked wheat, then aged in Kentucky bourbon barrels. The aging process smooths out the edges and bitterness turns to notes of vanilla beans, chocolate, dried cherries and wood. Tough Love is one of the most balanced and best examples of the whiskey barrel-aged imperial stout genre.
