A brand new beer is coming to the Levee on Thursday, and it has a distinctly “Fairfield” taste.
The 10 Point Buck is a beer brewed by Half Full Brewery in collaboration with the bartenders at the Levee.
“I am excited about this beer because Fairfield students can say, ‘We have our own beer!’ And I think that’s pretty cool,” said Paige Maloney ‘15, a Levee bartender.
Back in January, the bartenders visited Half Full’s facilities in Stamford to brew one keg of 10 Point Buck, a honey-kolsch style beer.
“Brewing a beer was really interesting, although not like what I imagined at all,” said Maloney. “Most beers are brewed in huge tanks in factories, but the one we made was in a large pot where we boiled the water and added the hops and barley.”
A kolsch beer, Half Full Brewer Jonathan Charest said, is a unique type of beer from Cologne, Germany. While it isn’t usually very bitter, it has a distinct taste.
“It is a strictly defined style of beer, not broad at all,” he said. “It actually does straddle the line between a lager and more traditional ales.”
According to Charest, this particular kolsch-style beer was brewed with grains, hops and yeast from Germany. The honey, however, was locally sourced.
“We added some [honey] during the boil, then I added more after. The sweet finish is all from honey added after fermentation,” Charest said. “We’re really happy with the recipe.”
Taste-wise, he said, it will be “like a slightly better version of Heineken.”
While there’s only one keg in existence at the moment, Maloney said she’s hoping production will continue.
“If it’s successful, it would be awesome to have it at our Senior Week events,” she said. “Hopefully it will get seniors and juniors to go to the Levee more often too.”
According to Charest, the collaboration between Fairfield and Half Full started a few months ago when they were approached by several seniors and chemical engineering majors about creating a uniquely Fairfield beer.
“For Fairfield to come to us and say ‘create something for us’ and put the creative ball in our hands, it gave us an opportunity to try something new,” he said. “I’m honored more than anything else.”
Fairfield isn’t the first school to partner up with a local brewery, however. In September 2013, Sacred Heart University teamed up with Two Roads Brewery, based in Stratford, to create Via Cordis, an abbey blonde ale.
Starting Thursday, Feb. 19 at 8 p.m., the 10 Point Buck is going to be on tap at the Levee and will be available for students 21 and over to drink.
Leave a Reply