🦩Summer of Lagers Begins July 25, Noon CT 🦩

The Bootleg Crew can’t seem to get away from cool, refreshing lagers while enduring this summer’s brutal heat.

That’s why we’ve decided to release two new rare LAGER BETA cultures that will help you wade into your own truly crispy waters.

Our Summer 2022 Homebrew Culture Pre-Sale starts Monday, July 25 at NOON CT and closes on Sunday, July 31. We’re planning to ship orders the last week of August.

New BETA Lagers: Unfiltered and Straight From the Keller!

Czech Unpasteurized Lager (CUL) *BETA*

Deep in our vault we discovered an isolate that had been banked near the very beginnings of Bootleg Biology. Back then, our intrepid wranglers had stumbled into an exclusive pouring of the “tank” version of the famous beer from Plzeň.

This unfiltered OG of crispiness had to be captured for posterity, and now we’re releasing it for you to bring your renditions to light. Our in-house sensory panel found it to bring a malty sweet pils aroma with a medium mouthfeel and very little to no diacetyl, which is sometimes present in the style.

Franconian Keller Lager (FKL) *BETA*

Our other offering this summer has similar origins, but hazier details. While in Amsterdam for an annual gathering of beer nerds, one wrangler found themselves late into the night with a sterile centrifuge tube in their bag and a German Keller Pils being served at just the right moment. This beer was exceptional. No, not just exceptional. “The best beer I have ever tasted.”

Our extensive testing found a strain distinct from the commonly use German Pils and Bock strains. Our sensory panel repeatedly said this strain emphasized hops and produced bright, crisp and dry lager beers. 

Of course, it wouldn’t be the 🦩Summer of Lagers🦩 without REGAL, OSLO and ARL for brewing exciting takes on less than traditional lager beers.

Milking the ‘Burgh

We’re extremely excited to have the BRAND NEW MTF FUNKbergh Mega Blend for the first time since 2019! Some global interruptions may have held it back, but this brand new Mega Blend of bugs has had our prop room smelling like something extraordinary. FUNKbergh is a diverse blend of yeast and bacteria cultures and is available ONCE during the Summer Presale!

This annual get together with the Milk The Funk community is one of the highlights of the year and has been held at Homebrew Con since the original Baltifunk in 2016. Big thank you goes out to Brother Malcolm from Hop Farm Brewing in Pittsburgh for hosting and dutifully handling the microbes for this release.

The National Homebrew Competition at HomebrewCon was kind to all Bootleggers out there.

Jordan Folks used OB Belgian to take home GOLD in Belgian Ale with a Belgian Table Beer! Jordan wasn’t done, using MTF Funkapolis to bring in ANOTHER Gold in the American Wild Ale category! While Jonathan Lizenby used our BETA Grodziskie Blend to grab a Silver in the smoke flavored category. Stay tuned for a future rerelease of our Grodziskie Blend thanks to Jonathan!

FerMENTORS Series

Speaking of mixed cultures, we have all of the FerMENTORS series cultures available again for pre-order! Get your hands on these one-of-a-kind house cultures that have powered some of the most legendary libations in American craft beer. 

Check out the Aug-Sep 2022 issue of Craft Beer and Brewing Magazine, as the FerMENTORS Series gets a shout out in the Editor’s Pick section

Our new FerMENTORS logo feels like a trip, and every fantastic voyage requires the right gear. Now you can add a WILD shirt to your order and be funkified in just a week or two.

Shirts ship separately from Homebrew Culture Presale orders. 

Try these favorites in these styles for a unique take:

IPAs

Quick and Long Term Sour Beer Brewing

Belgian and Farmhouse Beers

Brettanomyces

Bootleg Classics

By now you’ve probably heard how Classic New England helped BKS Artisan Ales take down a GABF Silver in Hazy Double IPA last year. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.