Bend’s Crux Fermentation Project consistently puts out good and interesting beer, and one of the more interesting undertakings that the brewery has engaged in the past several years is its coolship program. Crux built its own mobile coolship, a broad, shallow, open-top vessel that looks something like a giant cake pan, to experiment with spontaneously-fermented beers—what it calls its Gypsy Coolship program.

This coolship is mounted on a trailer, so the brewery can haul it out to regional areas that (probably) contain interesting wild yeasts and flora, pump it full of hot wort, and allow it to cool overnight and be inoculated with said yeast and flora. In the morning, the beer is drained back into tanks and returned to the brewery to ferment and age in barrels (typically).

The first beer in the Gypsy Coolship series was inoculated on the brewery’s own property in the middle of Bend, and the second one had Crux working with the Deschutes Land Trust to set up on a trailhead of the Metolius Preserve near the Metolius River.

This year, Crux released No. 3 in the series, as well as another experimental beer as part of “The Oregon I Am” project organized by the Coalition of Oregon Land Trusts. If you’re interested in wild, spontaneously-fermented beers, read on for my reviews.

Gypsy Coolship No. 3

This third iteration in the GC series tapped into the environment at the DD Ranch in Terrebonne here in Central Oregon. Crux had provided me a bottle of this earlier in the year, though I didn’t crack it open until August. It’s 6% ABV with 10 IBUs, and the description I pulled from Untappd reads:

Brewed at the scenic DD Ranch situated in the shadow of Smith Rock, this third coolship experiment is citrusy in character with pleasing pear-like flavors and a delightful funkiness you’d expect from a night spent under the stars and twelve months aging in oak barrels.

For additional context, I reviewed and wrote about Gypsy Coolship No. 2 last year.

Appearance: Honey-golden color, nicely bright and clear. Head was fizzy and ephemeral, and the beer is effervescent with tiny bubble in a steady stream.

Smell: Delicate funky notes with a touch of acetic acid and a floral, nectar-like aroma. Some oaky, Flanders red-type of aromatics, with even a hint of acetone (barrel), but rather mellow overall. Rustic.

Taste: Mildly sour with a sweet note, if you crossed a Pixy Stix with some balsamic vinegar and a farmhouse ale—in a good way. An almost spicy (phenolic) flavor along with some stone fruit skins, and red wine oakiness. Restorative, bright.

Mouthfeel: Medium-light body with a sparkling carbonation and a tart, dry finish with lingering notes of oak and funk.

Overall: Quite nice, and super pleasant to drink—not too acidic.

The Oregon I Am Experimental IPA

I wrote about The Oregon I Am (the project and the beer) back in June, and attending the coolship “brew” day with Crux in April for the beer. It’s a mixed-fermentation beer, inoculated with the wild yeasts of the Whychus Creek environment at the Camp Polk Meadow Preserve near Sisters, and additionally fermented with pitched kveik yeast. It was fascinating to see the coolship in action (so to speak—since technically it just sits there) so I was definitely excited to drink this one.

I received a bottle from Crux and opened it in August and enjoyed drinking it. It came in at 6% ABV with 30 IBUs.

Appearance: Crystal clear and bright golden color. Ample and finely structured white head, with great lacing.

Smell: Earthy and loamy, forest floor with hints of mountain ash berries and green (under ripe) huckleberry. A light, rustic, funky note that’s floral and herbal. Earthy hop character.

Taste: Herbal, earthy bitterness with a touch of piney spice that’s got some peppery greens, a touch of menthol, moss/tree bark. Light-tasting malt with a bit of toasted grains, but nothing to get in the way of the hops and bugs. (Wild bugs, you know what I mean.) It’s got rustic and pleasant fermentation characteristics that go a bit fruity and a bit “pasture” without being “barnyard.” Pleasantly bitter without being harsh.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied and a fairly dry finish. Light lingering bitterness.

Overall: Really enjoyed this, it’s pleasant and drinkable with just enough “farmhouse”/”wild” character to keep it really interesting.