A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of joining in on a brew day at Altered Genius, in my beloved hometown of Ambridge, PA. The collaboration brew was developed in support of the collab glass release set for this Saturday, May 22nd. Since the glass pays homage to all the great things about Ambridge, it just made sense to pair a beer with it that pays tribute to the deep rooted history of this quaint old steel town.
Down the road from Altered Genius sits Old Economy Village, a National Historical Landmark that spans over 6 acres within the town which has 17 buildings and an insanely impressive garden, which tells the story of the Harmony Society – one of the oldest and most successful religious communal groups of the Nineteenth Century. The Harmonist’s, led by a man named George Rapp, emigrated to America in 1804 from southwest Germany in search of religious and economic freedom. First they landed in Butler County, (where do you think the name Harmony, PA came from?) and relocated to Ambridge 10 years later. You can tour the grounds, which I highly recommend, especially around the holidays!
Mike and Donnie co-owners and brewers at Altered Genius, suggested we brew a beer to celebrate this incredible history. The recipe comes from the archives of Old Economy Village, which was retrieved and translated by their pal Dan at Beaver Brewing Co. AG put their own spin on it, sourcing mostly local ingredients, including CNC Malt in Butler, PA. See, it all comes full circle!
“We wanted to give back to the community here in Ambridge … We used all local ingredients in this brew to give it a true community feel.” -Mike Haas, co-owner of Altered Genius.
Without further adieu, may I introduce to yinz, “Divine Rappture” (the name is brilliant, see what they did there?) With this beer, you’ll get notes of caramel, bready-malt and smoke (reminiscent of being boiled over open flame), balanced with an herbal hop presence. Divine Rappture clocks in at 5.3% abv and has a very low bitterness scale at 22 IBU’s. In other words, it’s perfect for day sippin’ at our event this Saturday!
The event is free and open to the public. Come by and hang with Fueled by Hops folks, both staff and community, pick up the latest glass iteration from artist Ross Beagle and listen to live music by Brad Wagner from 2-5pm!
We hope you’ll join us at the awesome community-driven event. I should also mention that Fueled by Hops is donating the proceeds of the glass back to the Ambridge Chamber of Commerce, in efforts to revitalize this old steel town’s business district (which has seen a positive change in the last few years!) We hope to see yinz Saturday!
