Cape May County’s Gusto Brewing Company and MudHen Brewing Company are releasing their collaboration beer “Crossover Episode: The One Where MudHen Went To Gusto” with a Kick The Keg Party at Mudhen in Wildwood on February 29th at 7PM.
I was recently able to sit down with Head Brewer Dan Petela, and Owner/Founder Zack Pashley from Gusto Brewing, and Brewmaster Tony Cunha from MudHen Brewing to talk about what we believe to be the first collaboration between two Cape May County Breweries. The idea for the collaboration came about while they were in the green room waiting to go on “What’s On Tap” with Gary Monterosso, Tara Nurin, and our own John Couchoud. One of the first things they had to do was pick a style, and Tony was thrilled when Dan said “how about a big hazy boy” since it’s not a style that Tony gets to brew in the pub atmosphere of MudHen Brewing.
The phrase Crossover Episode comes from when characters from two different shows join up into one show, and “The One Where MudHen Went To Gusto” is a homage to the show “Friends”, which used similar titles for every show that they made.
The brew day was set for February 10th at Gusto in North Cape May and the boys went to work. The beer is a hazy NEIPA brewed with Ekuanot Hops which (Tony brought over), and Medusa Hops which Dan has never used before. The finished product will deliver a strong citrus flavor and aroma along with the distinctive hoppyness that is characteristic of the style. They will be dry hopping it twice during fermentation with the Ekuanot, Medusa, and some Vic Secret Hops. For the malt profile they went with a Pilsner for the base and added some Dextrin for a little sweetness – along with a copious amount of oats and wheat. This will be the first time Dan will be using Pilsner malts as the base malt to brew an IPA and we are excited to see how it will turn out.
Release Party
The party at MudHen on February 29th will feature music by The Indelible Groove so mark your calendars. You might as well enjoy this extra day with friends eating delicious food and drinking incredible beer. The hope is to get as many fellow Cape May County Brewery owners, brewers, and employees to come out like when MudHen hosted a Cornhole Tournament earlier in the year amongst the Cape May County breweries. It’s always fun to talk beer with these guys, and you would be hard pressed to find 3 better humans in the industry. Their work in giving back to the community is extremely commendable, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for the next collaboration. Hope to see you all on February 29th.
