Bragg Peak and where in whence it came.
(We previously wrote about some of the colorful items we encountered between April and August of 2016. If you didn't already peruse (the long one) the first post, go check it out first.)
Around July 2016, we were approached by a local physician to produce a beer for an upcoming event.
He wanted a Belgian. Check
He wanted it in about eight months. Check
He was going to have a lot of people interested in buying it. Check
The catch was, he had this strange name for the beer that he wanted us to use - Bragg Peak.
Backing up a bit, I actually worked at the same Health System where this particular physician provided services, and I was pretty familiar with at least a portion of this story. Several years ago my entire department was invited to go visit a new piece of equipment that the hospital had just purchased. Originally, we wondered why we were invited to view a piece of equipment; but after we were given a tour and an explanation, we knew why this wasn't just a piece of equipment.
This equipment was a proton cancer treatment machine that, from our behind-the-scenes view, looked like a nuclear reactor and that thing Goldfinger was using on James Bond.
As it was explained to us that day by the facility administrator, under normal radiation treatment circumstances a young child being treated for brain cancer runs a high risk of losing a measurable portion of his or her IQ. However, by utilizing this new proton machine, a child's IQ reduction would be greatly decreased because proton therapy reduces the collateral healthy tissue damage near the tumor. We were all now listening, needless to say.
This machine, ProteusOne, was an investment in a new form of cancer treatment made by Willis-Knighton Health System. The name Bragg Peak is how a proton expends its energy, which allows physician to shoot at cancer with a rifle vs. a shotgun. The company that makes this proton machine is a Belgian company, hence the need for a Belgian style beer; and they're hosting their international conference in Shreveport in mid-March. Bragg Peak was named in commemoration of this event and technology.
Bragg Peak is all about the yeast character of the strain we used (WLP570), so we left the finished beer unfiltered and without finings to allow the yeast character to shine...beer nerds be beware! There were only three malts and one hop used, so the yeast is the beer in this one. In my opinion, this is one of the best beers Red River Brewing has brewed up to this point. If you like the fruity esters of Belgian's, this is a beer you'll really enjoy. Go easy though, this is a higher alcohol beer at 8.5% abv. Come by the tasting room on March 17 to try Bragg Peak. There will be a very limited number of four-packs and kegs sold into the market that will be available the following week.
One final notation on Bragg Peak - many thanks to Darrin and Johnathan (Rumble Train Brewers) for their contribution to this brew. When we thought of brewing a Golden Strong, our minds immediately ran to the Golden Spike that we enjoyed all of those years at Shreveport BREW. Cheers, brothers.
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