Gypsy Coolship No. 5: A Celebration of Cool | Crux Fermentation Project
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Gypsy Coolship No. 5: A Celebration of Cool

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Coolship is a cool word. It’s also the name of the vessel we hitched to our van and took to Rainshadow Organics Farm on a balmy, clear afternoon in December 2021.

We filled the coolship with warm, just brewed wort. Its shallow basin and long sides allow for an even distribution of temperature. The idea is that the wort cools as it picks up wild yeast in the air. We left the wort overnight to do its open-fermentation thing, then packed it up in the morning and brought it back to our facility to let it ferment and age in oak barrels, which gave this special beer even more depth and complexity.

Rainshadow Organics is a 27-acre farm located just outside Bend that practices sustainable and traditional organic farming methods that pre-date commercial farming methods.

We called on our friend and Bend-based illustrator again for the label Sweet Pea Cole, and she did a fantastic job. Sweet Pea even incorporated Rusty, Rainshadow’s own purebred Brahma bull who recently passed away.

Rusty lived on the farm for six years and was responsible for breeding the cows at the ranch that Rainshadow used for their beef program. He was an outstanding bull who liked neck scratches and had to be sure he was in charge of making decisions; he did not like being pushed into things. Ashanti (Tall) Samuels, co-owner of Rainshadow, said Rusty was his best bud and will miss having him around.

Tall and our head brewer, Ryan Atagi, have been good friends since Ryan first moved into the area. So this project was a collaboration of friends, and as Ryan puts it, “It was cool people making cool beer in a coolship on a cool day in cool Central Oregon. Cool, huh?”
Yup. Very cool.

Our 5th coolship experiment is one of our favorites, with round tartness and soft notes of apple, pear, honey, and orange blossoms complimented by a subtle farmland funk.

We had a great time brewing it and bringing it to you, and we hope you enjoy this one with your coolest friends.

Cheers.