Deep Ellum's BrainDead Brewing opened in March, but the brewpub celebrates its true mission on May 11 with the release of its inaugural batch of house-brewed beer.
Brewer Andrew Huerter has created a trio of beers, including a Scottish 75 Shilling ale; an English ale called Foreign Export Stout; and Gritz, a "pre-Prohibition style" cream ale. You can start sipping as soon as 11 am when BrainDead opens; at least one of the beers will be ready at 11 am, and all 3 will be up and running by 6.
The Scottish 75 Shilling is named after an antiquated pricing system in Scotland, Huerter says.
"The price was tied to the strength and how much malt was used," he says. "It's a lighter Scottish ale with 4.4 percent ABV. We went with Scottish ale because it's a good beer to calibrate our new brewing system, and it's also a beer that's ready quickly."
The stout is 6.6 percent ABV and fulfills the "dark" niche.
"We wanted to have something dark and something stronger," he says. "Among the styles being brewed locally, the foreign stout wasn't yet well-represented. It's also unique in that it's brewed with a little bit of licorice root. It doesn't taste like licorice candy; it's more of a woody sweetness."
The Gritz, which comes in at 4.4 percent ABV, also brings something new to Dallas.
"There aren't many cream ales in this market, which I always liked as a light, easy, approachable drinking beer," he says. "It has more hops and a more noticeable corn flavor, compared to other blond ale types. We add about 20 percent corn to the mash, which adds a pleasant corn flavor instead of brewing it with corn syrup or a corn type malt replacement."
Huerter says that the Scotch ale is "so far a one-off, we'll see what happens," while the Gritz and the Export Stout will be part of their regular rotation, along with a dry-hopped wheat and a BrainDead red.
The brewpub was founded by three craft beer veterans, including Huerter, Sam Wynne (Flying Saucer) and Jeff Fryman (Common Table). So far, it's earned notice for its lineup of craft beers on tap, its chocolate chip cookie dessert, its showcase patio and its bold stance on plastic straws.
BrainDead opened in Deep Ellum in March.
