PAGE 10 • GO! MAGAZINE
Thursday, June 17, 2021 • The BuLLeTIn
BEER, WINE & MORE
bendbulletin.com/godrink
Jon Abernathy/For The Bulletin
Crux coolship brew day at Camp Polk Meadow Preserve.
A BREW DAY WITH CRUX
BY JON ABERNATHY • For The Bulletin
O
n a sunny afternoon in late April, I drove out to the Camp Polk Meadow Preserve near Sisters for a special brew day with Crux Fermentation
Project. Crux partnered with the Deschutes Land Trust to bring its mobile coolship to the Preserve, along the banks of Whychus Creek, to
create a wild yeast-inflected Experimental IPA. I was invited to join the brewery and the Land Trust to observe the brew in action.
A coolship is a broad, shallow open-
top vessel used to cool wort (unfer-
mented beer), allowing it to cool over-
night in the open air. Wild yeasts and
bacteria settle into it to begin the pro-
cess of fermentation; these organisms
reflect their particular environment
and lend a unique terroir to the fin-
ished beer.
The wort was prepared at Crux’s
brewery in Bend, then trucked out to
the Preserve, still hot. As we watched,
steaming hot sugary liquid jetted into
the coolship. It took about 40 minutes
to fill the open tank, and members of
the Land Trust added handfuls of juni-
per boughs and three large bags of Ster-
ling hops to infuse the wort as it cooled.
This partnership and beer are part
of a larger project spawned by the Co-
alition of Oregon Land Trusts (COLT).
This project, “The Oregon I Am,” fea-
tures a first-of-its-kind map highlight-
ing 81 different locations throughout
the state that anyone can visit. COLT
partnered with eight breweries, includ-
ing Crux, to brew beers inspired by Or-
egon’s diverse landscapes.
With the exception of Crux’s beer,
all are being released this week; Crux
will release its beer on the 25th to coin-
cide with a virtual tasting event for the
project.
I asked the brewery about the inspi-
ration behind the recipe for this IPA.
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