Oregon Brewers Guild Partners with Baerlic Brewing on State of Excitement No. 2 – Hazy IPA

Earlier this year the Oregon Brewers Guild brought together a plethora of member breweries of the guild to brew State of Excitement to celebrate Zwickelmania. Since this time the brewing landscape has drastically changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Today, the Oregon Brewers Guild announced that State of Excitement will now be a quarterly release from the Guild. The second beer in this series is State of Excitement No. 2, a Hazy IPA that was brewed by Baerlic Brewing with virtual contributions from 26 other Oregon breweries. State of Excitement No. 2 will be followed up by State of Excitement No. 3, a fresh hop beer released in the fall.

“Collaborations are a little different right now, but I suppose just about everything is,” said Baerlic Beer Co. Brewer Stephen Helwig, who led the charge on brewday, in a press release. “Fortunately, the modern miracle of the internet helped us to communicate, stay organized, and craft a damn delicious beer that shows off the best ingredients Oregon has to offer.”

State of Excitement No. 2 is Hazy IPA that is a true community effort from the Oregon brewing community and its suppliers. The 6.5 percent hazy IPA uses Crystal, Cascade, Amarillo, Idaho 7 and Triumph hops donated by Crosby Hop Farm, Goschie Farms and Yakima Chief Hops; malts donated by Mecca Grade Estate Malt and Skagit Valley Malting; the Barbarian/Juice yeast strain combo, pitched in by Imperial Yeast; and printing, cans and packaging donated by Rose City Label, Craft Canning and WCP Solutions.

“We’re honored to have the opportunity to support the Oregon Brewers Guild during this challenging time,” said Crosby Hop Farm CEO Blake Crosby, in a press release. “OBG is a leader in driving education, guidance, and connection for the Oregon brewing industry and its stakeholders. We expect this project to resonate with craft beer drinkers across the state and contribute to the continued excellence that OBG represents nationally.”

Brewers communicated via email and met via Zoom meetings to determine the style of beer and formulate the recipe. Participating breweries include: Allegory Brewing, Baerlic Beer Co, Barsideous Brewing, Bend Brewing Co, Bevel Brewing, Breakside Brewery, Brewery 26, Buoy Beer Co, Deschutes Brewery, Gateway Brewing, Gigantic Brewing, Heater Allen Beer, Hopworks Urban Brewery, Laurelwood Brewing, Leikam Brewing, McMenamins, Ninkasi Brewing, Sasquatch Brewing, Stickmen Brewing, Three Mugs Brewing, Threshold Brewing & Blending, Unicorn Brewing, Von Ebert Brewing, Weekend Beer Co, Wild Ride Brewing, Wolf Tree Brewing, and Yachats Brewing.

“The Oregon beer industry has been built on community coming together for the love of craft beer,” said Christina LaRue, Executive Director of the Oregon Brewers Guild, in a press release. “This project is an exciting way to bring our brewers and industry partners together, even if only virtually for now, to celebrate that community through the art of collaboration. Stay tuned for two additional beers this year.”

State of Excitement No. 2 will be available for purchase at each of the participating breweries and all of the proceeds will benefit the Oregon Brewers Guild, and its efforts to protect and promote the state’s craft beer industry. Like many organizations, the Guild has experienced financial turmoil as all of its annual events have been canceled due to COVID-19.