Falling in Love Again: Rising Sun Pale Ale
Starting in 2017, we are running a “Falling in Love Again” series where each month we will feature one beer from our year-round lineup to re-introduce each beer with some new background info that you might not know. Our Taprooms will also feature special promotions connected with the monthly beer.
In September we are taking the opportunity to introduce one of our two grand champion beers: the Rising Sun Pale Ale!
Rising Sun Pale Ale
When faced with the question “how did you first fall in love with Baird Beer?” many Baird fans will answer that they started with Rising Sun Pale, a beer that has almost become synonymous with our brand.
The pale ale is a style that exists among the ale beers, similar to how the pilsner style is part of the lager beer family. Pale ales are extremely popular and brewed very widely. When taking your first sip of the Rising Sun Pale Ale, you’ll initially find a richness of hop flavor and refreshment, but if you keep going beyond that you can find a depth of complex flavors that we feel is summed up by a term that is often used to describe Japanese aesthetics: “ultimate balance.” This is a beer that you can drink every day and still not grow tired of.
What speaks more than words about the Rising Sun is that moment when you raise the glass to your nose and grab a whiff of that whole cone hop aroma. It’s an eloquent mix of citrus and pine that is well-known in the northeastern American states and comes from the unprocessed hops that we buy, which are grown right there along the coast of the Pacific. We only use unprocessed whole cone hops at Baird Beer, including in the process known as “dry hopping,” a traditional way of adding a richer hop spectrum to a beer’s aroma. If you want to experience the kind of rich character that these whole cone hops can add to a beer, look no further than the Rising Sun Pale Ale!
A loving handful of whole cone hops
Another of Rising Sun’s points of beauty is the label. When we had the artwork designed, the only word to describe it that we had was “Japan.” Japan is known in many places around the world as the “land of the rising sun.” Within Japan, Mt. Fuji is a symbolic icon of Japan’s natural stature. When gazing at the sun rising over Mt. Fuji, one will often get an overwhelming feeling of thankfulness for the wonders of the natural world, the greatness of existence, and for life itself. Bryan believes that Mt. Fuji is not just a symbol of Japan, but of the spirit of craftsmanship as well as an image of Japanese craft traditions. It’s probably not just a coincidence that we ended up living and making beer in a region where we can gaze up this symbolic mountain every day.
Mt. Fuji
Like Rising Sun Pale Ale, every Baird Beer has a back story. Personal tales, historical tales, tales of beer styles, these beers are steeped in stories. We hope that you, those who enjoy these beers, do so in a way that compliments and becomes a part of your lifestyle and experiences.
Sayuri Baird