Big news from 3 Stars Brewing Company yesterday. Founders Dave Coleman and Mike McGarvey have teamed up with Delmar, Delaware based Evolution Craft Brewing to brew The Syndicate, a saison with a “peppercorn melange.” This will be the first beer released to the public by 3 Stars.
Coleman and McGarvey met with Evolution brew master Geoff DeBisschop and assistant brewer Joseph Lemnah (sidenote: you may know him as @hopfentreader on Twitter, a prolific homebrewer in his own right) to discuss the beer they wanted to collaborate on. After hashing out the characteristics that both sides wanted, the 3 Stars team went back up last week to brew on Evolution’s 10 BBL system. Evolution, by the way, makes a number of tremendous beers, including the Lot 3 single IPA, Lot 6 double IPA, and Rise Up Coffee Stout, which recently made the final four of the Washington Post’s Beer Madness.
Coleman described The Syndicate as a “nice, easy-drinking peppercorn saison.” The “melange” that went into the saison was a medley of red, white, and black peppercorns. Coleman was extremely excited that it will be available for SAVOR Beer Week, and even more excited about having worked with Evolution. “The guys at Evolution are…totally like-minded with us. They’re a small outfit, working on a 10 BBL system,” noted Coleman.
Upon meeting with Tom Knorr, the owner of Evolution, last Thursday, Coleman said the experience “illustrates everything we thought about the brewing community. The camaraderie…we’re two teams coming to the same field trying to make it happened.”
That camaraderie is also important for the beer the two breweries produced, said Coleman; “I think that’s why the Syndicate works. It’s two groups working clandestinely together to make a project without anyone knowing that we’re doing it.”
Obviously this is a huge deal for 3 Stars because SAVOR Beer Week brings a ton of craft beer fans and professionals into the District. Having that beer available to them will get 3 Stars out into the market earlier than expected.
3 Stars is slated to open its production facility later this year in the hope that there will be beer in the market by late fall.
