Ferment Brewing releases Bright West IPA and Helles Bock

Ferment Brewing Co. has released and packaged two beers as part of the brewery’s Top & Bottom Ferment Series. This series features two limited released beers that explore hops, malt and yeast, and are released in tandem with each other. One of which is a top fermenting ale and the other is a bottom fermenting lager.

Bright West IPA and Helles Bock are the latest two beers to join this series. Both beers are now available in 4-pack, 16oz cans at Ferment Brewing in Hood River and at specialty beer and grocery stores throughout Oregon

According to Ferment Brewing, Bright West IPA has been a crowd favorite at the brewery and now joins a limited run in 16oz cans. In brewing this IPA, Ferment used Chinook, Cascade, Crystal and Mosaic hops that are said to provide a grapefruit citrus bouquet to this IPA without introducing a lot of bitterness. The brewery describes this beer as a West Coast IPA that sits at 6.5% ABV. But from the photo that was sent in the email to us, Bright West IPA doesn’t look all that bright and appears to be closer to a Hazy IPA.

Helles Bock is the Bottom Ferment option of the current Top & Bottom Ferment Series release. The brewery states that Helles Bock has some weight to it with a rich malt character that backs it up. The use of German Tettnanger hops brings forth a subtleness that’s balanced with just a touch of bitterness. A style synonymous with Maibock and normally released in the Spring, Ferment found the malt-forward beer to be suitable for the Pacific Northwest’s autumn evenings as it comes in at an intense 6.9% ABV.

“Both of these beers were a lot of fun to make and they’re exactly what I’d like to be drinking right now as the leaves turn colors and the evenings get crisp and cold,” said Dan Peterson, brewmaster at Ferment Brewing Co., in a press release. “The Helles Bock is a big beer that truly feels like autumn and could be cellared in the can over the winter months. Bright West is a beer that uses a lot of the hops in our flagship IPA but showcases them completely differently. Everyone wanted us to brew it again, so we made it happen!”