Firefox and Widmer Open-Source Their 'Opensourcery IPA'

Maybe you've heard the term "open-source" before. It's a techie term for software whose source code has been made freely available for modification and redistribution. If you use an Android smartphone, Android is based on Linux, an open-source operating system (OS's); other Linux-based OS's are designed to run on PCs and Macs. Libre Office? That's an open-source alternative to Microsoft's Office suite of software. How about web browsers? Firefox is well-known, runs PCs and smartphones, and yes, it's an open-source browser.Right then, what does this have to do with beer? Widmer Brewing, Portland's branch of the Craft Brewers Alliance, has teamed up with Firefox to launch what has dubbed "an open-source beer." Hannah Rand, from Allison PR, sent this note on the project: "Just like Firefox works to create a better internet through open source technology, the browser joined forces with Widmer Brothers to apply that same philosophy to craft brewing, allowing consumers to directly impact the final product. Version one of Open Sourcery, a tropical IPA, was a result of consumers sharing their brew preferences through a survey released via Twitter to make a beer for the people, by the people.The final version is set to be released this June with modifications based on consumer feedback of the first version of the beer. Pints for Portland attendees were asked to answer questions about the beers haziness, flavor, hoppiness and more to help refine Open Sourcery. Firefox and Widmer will be releasing the full, final recipe and brewing process for homebrewers to create and modify to their liking – making it truly an open sourced brewing experience.Ultimately, Firefox believes the open source approach can be applied to many different technologies – from browsing to beer – to make things better for everyone."Thomas Bleigh, Craft Brewers Alliance Innovation Brewmaster, added: "Firefox and Widmer Brothers teamed up to launch a one-of-a-kind open source beer. Our goal was to use collective feedback and beer preferences to make the perfect-tasting beer. The first version of the beer was brewed based on the survey results to create a beer with the following desired attributes Slightly Hazy IPA with predominant oat character, tropical flavor, golden color, moderate hop bitterness and high alcohol. The resulting beer was released to the public on 5/22 with the following beer specifications:Original Gravity: 15.5 | Apparent Extract: 2.7 | Alcohol by Volume: 7.0% | Bitterness Units: 69 | SRM/Color: 10.5All proceeds from the sale of 'Open Sourcery' were also used to support Pints for Portland and specifically 'Women in Tech.'Tasters of V1.0 can help shape the next iteration of the beer by completing a survey here: Open Sourcery Beer SurveyMultiple versions will be brewed with increasingly precision oriented adjustments of the beer as consumers are allowed to dial the beer up or down based on color, haze, BU’s, ABV, color, and malt and hop attributes."Opensourcery IPA made its debut on draft at the Widmer Public House on May 22, 2018. Beer drinkers are invited to come in, taste the beer, and add their input to the Opensourcery survey.