Pelican Brewing Releases Hurdy Gurdy, Part Of Its Lone Pelican Small Batch Series

Pacific City, Oregon (January 11, 2017)—Pelican Brewing Company continues its exploration of rare, underrepresented beer styles with the release of a Bavarian-style ale, Roggenbier.  Hurdy Gurdy, named for and inspired by one of Pelican’s brewers, is the second entry in the Lone Pelican Small Batch Series launched to offer limited-production beers that examine unique techniques, ingredients and flavor profiles.

Hurdy Gurdy, a rare German variation on Weissbier called Roggenbier, uses malted rye in place of malted wheat to create a beer that is decidedly malty and spicy. With an aromatic nose of fruity banana-like character from the German-style yeast, spicy character from the rye and floral notes from the Hersbrucker hops, Hurdy Gurdy offers an unfiltered light gold color that finishes well-attenuated and soft in the finish:

ABV: 4.8% | IBU: 15 | PLATO: 11º

“Roggenbier is very similar to Bavarian-style Weissbier, but because the specialty malt is rye, it brings a spiciness to the malt flavor and a fullness of palate not typical for a beer of such modest strength,” says Darron Welch, founding brewmaster at Pelican. “We wanted to do something completely the opposite of what you expect in the winter like holiday ales and stouts—something that was pleasant to drink in cold weather but with a lighter composition.”

Pelican brewers encouraged to reimagine traditional beer styles
The objective of the limited-production series is to bring more Pelican brewer-inspired creations to the broader market—all with the same fresh, enjoyable drinkability for which Pelican is widely known. The Lone Pelican Series takes traditional beer styles and ingredients and reimagines them to demonstrate the vast spectrum of flavor experiences possible. Pelican now expands its line-up to include a new brew every two months adding 22 oz. bottle distribution and larger draft quantities for on-premise pours.

With consistent growth and demand for its products, Pelican recently increased brewing and bottling capacity at its Tillamook facility to over 30,000 barrels and opened a new brewpub in Cannon Beach which offers additional capacity for such experimentation.

“We are now able to utilize our smaller brewing systems at the brewpubs to offer some really interesting and sometimes rebellious takes on traditional beer styles—this one-off series really showcases the collective talent and creativity of our brewers,” says Jim Prinzing, CEO, Pelican Brewing Company. “We want Pelican beer lovers to keep wondering what’s next as they anticipate new brews in the series.”

According to Welch, Pelican has always been focused on creating as wide a range of beers as possible:

• Designed and brewed with innovation and craftsmanship
• Showing our guests and fans the many possibilities of flavor in the world of beer
• Dedicated attention to detail in the pursuit of quality and consistency

About Pelican Brewing Company
Pelican Brewing Company was founded in 1996 by Jeff Schons and Mary Jones in Pacific City with Oregon’s only oceanfront brewpub. Celebrating its 20^th year, the brewing company has created masterpieces like Kiwanda Cream Ale, India Pelican Ale, MacPelican’s Scottish Ale, Tsunami Stout and Doryman’s Dark. With the vision, creativity and brewing expertise of founding brewmaster Darron Welch, Pelican Brewing has won over 300 awards including a Silver Medal at the 2016 Great American Beer Festival, 2014 World Beer Cup© Champion Small Brewing Company and Brewmaster of the Year. Pelican Brewing currently distributes 22oz bottles, 12oz bottles in 6-packs, a new mixed 12-pack, and 50 liter and 20 liter kegs via a network of distributors in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, Hawaii and Vermont. The company operates brewing and brewpub facilities in Pacific City, Tillamook and Cannon Beach.