Breaking down pFriem Family Brewers 2021 packaged beer release schedule
pFriem Family Brewers enters 2021 on the hunt for a new head brewer, and with a streamlined calendar of beers that showcase more of what they do best in packaged form. Bottled beer has been a part of what pFriem does since the beginning, and 2021 will see more of it than ever with returning favorites and new limited releases. We also get to see some interesting replacements for beers we missed last year, and some of the wilder barrel-aged and fruit projects that have been in the cellar for years. To assist in our analysis, we talked to co-founder/brewmaster Josh Pfriem who helped walk us through some of the beers on the calendar that intrigued us most.
Annual Year-Round Classic beers in package form will continue to be 500ml bottles of IPA, Pilsner and Hazy IPA, and all of those plus the new Pale Ale in 12oz cans/6-packs.
Toast any day with one of pFriem’s Classic beers. Approachable and flavorful, these beers are the perfect reward for a long work day or a strenuous float down the river. Building on centuries of brewing, our Classic beer styles might be familiar, but the complexity will surprise you.
Classic Seasonal is the 500ml bottle lineup of established favorites that come back year after year for 2-3 months. These are split up into three different sub-series of Pale seasonal, IPA seasonal, and a Lager seasonal.
Jan-Feb: Mosaic Pale, Citrus Zest IPA and Vienna Lager.
April-June: Bright Pale, Sparkling IPA, Helles Lager
July-Sept: Jammy Pale, Golden IPA, Mexican Lager
Oct-Dec: Extra Pale, Juicy IPA, Export Lager
Classic Limited is another smaller seasonal series in 500ml bottle. This series has one of the first surprises revealed in the calendar — a new Cold IPA.
Winter: Czech Dark Lager
Spring: Japanese-style Lager + Kolsch-style Ale
Summer: Cold IPA, Wit, + Oktoberfest-style Lager
Fall: Dank IPA, Winter Ale, + CDA
“We are very excited about this beer!" says Josh Pfriem, talking about the Cold IPA. “We were hoping to brew it last year, but COVID took a lot of things from last year that we are excited to bring into 2021. This style plays off of some of our favorite things we have learned about lagers and hop forward beers over the years. Crisp and crushable, but very hop forward…yes please! Inspirations for this beer have come from the talented folks over at Wayfinder; there have been many nights we have found ourselves enjoying the heck out their version. Also other inspiration comes from our dear friends down at Highland Park in LA have been cranking out some really cool beers in this realm over the past couple of years. Stoked to share our take on this emerging style.”
Annual Select Belgian Ale is the outlet for expression of pFriem’s Belgian influence that was a huge part of their identity in the early days. They now put two beers out year-round into 375ml bottles. Belgian Strong Dark Ale and Belgian Blonde Ale.
pFriem Select beers are designed to complement food, home-cooking, takeout or dining out, keep a bottle in the fridge and pull it out for the right pairing. Subtly complex, elegant and satisfying; these beers can make any meal sing or help you wind down the night once the meal is over.
Select Seasonal is the smaller format and premium beers that are released every 2 months or so, they comprise a variety of styles and are available in 375ml bottles.
Jan-Feb: Super Saison
Mar-April: Lemon Zest Farmhouse Ale
May-Jun: Saison
Jul-Aug: TBD
Sept-Oct: Pumpkin Bier
Nov-Dec: Mexican Chocolate Stout
Select Limited is yet another premium line of beers in mostly caged and corked 375ml bottles, with two exceptions that are brand new in 2021. Hazy Sabro and Big IPA are brand new beers in the Select Limited line but will be packaged in 500ml bottles. After the loss of pFriem Triple IPA which would normally drop in January, the addition of a “Big IPA” will make hopheads joyous.
“Triple IPA is such a fun beer to brew alongside Pliny the Younger from Russian River, but with little to no draft sales this year, we didn’t make one,” says Josh Pfriem about the much requested Triple IPA.
“Nonetheless we wanted to brew something big, fun, and new this year, so why not a “big IPA”? Simple malt focus, and huge aromatic hops from the Pacific Northwest and the Southern Hemisphere are a no brainer!”
Bretta III
Hazy Sabro (500ml bottles)
Big IPA (500ml bottles)
Oatmeal Cookie Ale
Coconut Stout
Belgian Christmas Ale
Barrel-Aged Limited is the self explanatory collection of oak-aged ales that includes the Distiller’s Series. This year it’s been split up into the fruited and non-fruited barrel-aged beers. This is also where we get into real beer geek territory and we spied some brand new brews that caught our eye like Maple Pastry Stout, a Bourbon Barleywine, and the much delayed Las Pinas.
“We brewed a Bourbon Barleywine for Chuck’s 10 year anniversary up in Seattle and we were tickled with the results! We took what we learned from it and are releasing a new beer that we think plays very well to this niche style,” says Josh of the new Barleywine scheduled to drop sometime in 2021.
”Maple Pastry Stout is also a new beer. We have a very full and lovely base beer that we have put in barrels that were home to our friend Pappy and then aged maple syrup in them! The brewery smelled beautiful when these barrels were being filled! Come late Summer we will check in on these barrels and deem what tasty treats will be added to them- vanilla beans, cocoa cocoa nibs? We are going to let the beer tell us what it needs.”
Barrel-Aged:
Flanders Red
Oud Bruin
Flanders Blonde
Barrel-Aged Saison IV
Bourbon BA Imperial Stout
Bourbon Barleywine
Rye BA Imperial Brown
Rum BA Porter
Apple Brandy Ale
Maple Pastry Stout
Maple Smoked Porter
Fruit Barrel-Aged:
Las Piñas
Nectarine Golden Ale
Kriek
Peche
Frambozen
Bosbessen
Pruim
La Baie Sauvage
La Mere
Druif Blanc
Draft beer will continue to feature IPA, Pilsner, Hazy IPA, their new Pale Ale, and Belgian Blonde Ale and Dark Strong available year-round. A Wit bier and a Kolsch will be available in kegs for the Spring - Summer, but it’s unclear how much of the rest of the lineup will be widely available on draft in 2021.
“We have lots of beers in the queue for draft, but it will depend on what happens with the pandemic and the dining and hospitality situation in the PacNW,” says Josh Pfriem on what we can expect for the more streamlined draft beer output.
“The more that the draft beer world opens back up, the more diversity we will make throughout the year. It will of course be in pFriem fashion, lots of lagers, hop forward beers, and anything and everything interesting, relevant, and tasty!”
ABOUT pFRIEM FAMILY BREWERS
pFriem (pronounced “freem”) artisanal beers are symphonies of flavor and balance, influenced by the great brewers of Europe, but unmistakably true to our homegrown roots in the Pacific Northwest. We are guided by a religious commitment to quality and the never-ending pursuit of innovation. Although they are served humbly, each glass is overflowing with pride and a relentless aspiration to brew the best beer in the world.
pFriem Family Brewers has experienced incredible growth in the past eight years and has earned prestigious awards, including being named GABF® 2018 Mid-Size Brewing Company of the Year, Three Time Brewery of the Year by the Beer Connoisseur, and numerous medals in national and international brewing competitions.
The brewery now has two locations with its primary brewing facility in Hood River. In 2020, pFriem installed a state of the art German engineered and fabricated 6 vessel 45 barrel brewhouse in order to take the beer to the next level. The second facility is in Cascade Locks and is home to pFriem’s barrel program.
Our award-winning Tasting Room is located in our beloved hometown of Hood River, Oregon, across the street from the town’s beautiful Waterfront Park.
PFRIEMBEER.COM | (541) 321-0490 707 PORTWAY AVE, STE 101 HOOD RIVER, OR 97031