Peaks & Pints opened Nov. 1 2016 with Perfect Proctor Porter on draft. It was a recreation of Bert Grant’s Perfect Porter we brewed at Wingman Brewers in Tacoma. Thinking back, it was a fun brewing day thanks to co-owner Ken Thoburn and his assistant brewer, Mike Dempster. A year later, Dempster launched his Mirage Beer brewery in Seattle’s South Park neighborhood, releasing beers without a taproom. Dempster, who has brewed at Greenpoint Beer Works in Brooklyn and Buoy Beer Co. in Astoria, opened as a farmhouse-focused brewery, with some of his sours and saisons spontaneously fermented. It wasn’t long before he was known for his hazy IPAs and lagers. Today, Peaks and Pints offers a to-go flight of Dempster’s beers, a flight we call Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Mirage On The Fly.
Peaks and Pints Pilot Program: Mirage On The Fly
Mirage Chasing Oases
4.2% ABV
The Münchner (Munich) helles is a light golden- to straw-colored German lager known for being medium-bodied with an emphasis on malt character and low bitterness. Dempster brewed Chasing Oases helles lager with Santiam hops and his favorite German malt. Cold-fermented under pressure with a spunding valve for a fully-natural carbonation, Chasing Oases is then slowly step-crashed and lagered for 4 weeks.
Mirage 225K Hours
6.2% ABV
Hazy IPA brewed with Citra in the boil and whirlpool. It was later double dry hopped with Citra cryo, Idaho 7 cryo, and tons more Citra for a stone fruit and tropical fruit combo to the nose. The fruit transfers to the tongue, pillow-y soft, and a dank finish.
Mirage Two 15s
8.4% ABV
Hazy double IPA brewed with Ekuanot cryo hops in the boil and whirlpool. It was later double dry hopped with more Ekuanot cryo and tons of El Dorado for sweet citrus gummy candies with a little bit of tropical fruit juice on the nose. The taste is much of the same but with a candied orange peel finish. This full-bodied double has a bitter finish.
Mirage Pluto Sent
6.5% ABV
Sometimes hazy IPAs need to taste like ganja and not fruit. Thankfully, Mirage sent Pluto. Dry hopped with Vic Secret, Motueka, and a blend of noble hops, this hazy is grassy, dank and pillow-y soft.