Cape May Brewing Company and DC Brau Collaborate on Rosé du Gosé
Cape May, NJ — Cape May Brewing Company is pleased to announce the third collaboration with Washington DC-based brewery DC Brau on Rosé du Gosé, a rosé wine-inspired gose with strawberry and peach juices. The result of their first collaboration in 2018, this is the second time DC Brau has brewed Rosé du Gosé and Cape May Brewing Company’s first.
“We loved working with the folks at DC Brau back in 2018,” says Cape May Brewing Company CEO and co-founder Ryan Krill, “so when they asked if we’d mind if they brewed it again — a classy move, by the way –, we were quick to agree to a second collaboration. They’re great people over at DC Brau. We share the same values, they’re really creative, they’re not too-cool-for-school. They’re like us in a lot of ways.”
There is mutual respect between the two breweries, with Krill and Brandon Skall, the CEO and co-founder of DC Brau, having crossed paths several times throughout the years.
“I have such a fun time with Krill whenever I see him,” Skall says. “Usually, it’s at big industry events, but he always brings this big, open-heart feeling of warmth, acceptance, and a little spicy wit. Basically, I just like being around the guy!”
“I’ve personally enjoyed collaborating with Cape May based on one thing, their people,” says Jeff Hancock, President, Brewmaster, and co-founder of DC Brau. “From the top-down, everyone has a great attitude and you can tell that they really enjoy what they’re doing as far as their contribution to the growing Eastern Seaboard craft brewery scene. Their love for the collaborative spirit shows based on past collabs with them and this most recent rebrew of Rosé du Gosé. It’s an amazing experience to work with so many positive people to create beers that we feel will resonate with both of our fan bases.”
The collaborations between Cape May Brewing Company and DC Brau have been marked with a certain degree of unconventionality. For their collaboration in 2018, the breweries produced two beers — L’attitude, an “Experimental IPA” at Cape May, and Rosé du Gosé at DC Brau, with brewers from each brewery visiting the other to brew the respective beers.
With the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic this year, collaborating on Rosé du Gosé required some out-of-the-box thinking.
“This collaboration was a little different,” Krill says. “We did everything remotely. We really love everyone at DC Brau — they’re great people –, but this is such a weird time. Luckily, we figured out an alternative way to reach out, engage, and have some fun.”
For this collaboration, instead of the brewers traveling to each other’s breweries, they sent emissaries in the form of cardboard cutouts.
For the original brew in 2018, the breweries designed Rosé du Gosé to mimic the flavors found in rosé wines, which had recently seen a resurgence in popularity. Each brewery did their own set of rosé wine tastings, picking up on individual characteristics that each found in the wine.
“Strawberry and peach hit on a solid flavor combo that we all collectively thought would work very well in a gose format,” says Cape May Brewing Company’s Innovation Director Brian Hink.
The kettle-soured Rosé du Gosé is marked by a delicate malt bill containing pilsner and wheat malts and an understated hops bill of Bravo — designed to subordinate to the fruit flavors of strawberry and peach and the locally-sourced sea salt.
“It is such a playful take on a kettle sour,” Skall says. “It has a touch of salinity, just enough to hit the gose style right on the nose and the blush character makes this Rose the perfect alternative to its cousin from Sancerre.”
“I personally love that we took a cue from the wine world and did our own riff on a very popular style of wine via a kettle-soured ale,” Hancock agrees. “There aren’t a whole lot of people looking to do direct riffs on traditional wine styles. For me, the beer is very intriguing and palatable without being unapproachable to someone who’s never had a kettle-soured beer before. I really enjoy the restrained tart character of the beer and the mild, fruity notes.”
Rosé du Gosé releases on July 17th at DC Brau and in Cape May Brewing Company. DC Brau will be distributing cans to limited markets near Washington DC, while Cape May Brewing Company’s version will only be available in their Tasting Room and Brewtique.
For more information on Cape May Brewing Company, including for tours and tastings, see www.capemaybrewery.com or call (609) 849-9933.
For more information on DC Brau, see www.dcbrau.com, or call (202) 621-8890.
