For the third installment of our Province Ale Co. series we’re exploring the world of pre-Reinheitsgebot German ales.  Despite the idea that all German ale is strictly brewed with malt, hops, water, and yeast, Germany actually has a rich history of spiced Gruit beers, made with unique spice mixtures often controlled and provided by the local Church. 

This ale from the Saxony-Anhalt region of Germany combines both that heritage and the more modern use of hops.  Brewed with all German Vienna and English Amber malts, this ale is a rich amber color and has a strong toasty bite. 

Along with the earthy European hops, coriander, caraway, and Hartshorn were added in the boil.  What’s Hartshorn you ask? Hartshorn is actually the antler from a deer!  Our best guess is this would have been added as fining agent to help the natural clarification of the beer.  Rendered down, hartshorn forms a gelatin, and gelatins are commonly used for this purpose.  Our Hartshorn was harvested sustainably and was provided by one of our friends and former co-workers, Greg Catts, who hunts on his family's own local farm.  

This ale was then fermented with a German Ale strain letting all of the individual ingredients shine through; toasted bread and roastiness from the malts with a lingering spicy finish from the coriander, caraway, and hops.  Prost!

Saxony-Anhalt Ale will be tapped for Province Ale Co. 'investors' on Saturday, March 16, 2013 and then will be available for the public.

Due to limited availability, our Brewpub Exclusive beers are not available in growlers.