The Bruery & Top Chef Brooke Williamson Team Up to Brew “Girl Grey”

Spring seasonal features Belgian character, almond flavor and piquant quality of Earl Grey tea, perfect for a new generation of beer lovers.

The Bruery®, an independent craft brewery based in Placentia, California, is releasing Girl Grey™, an exciting and refreshing collaboration ale brewed with Chef Brooke Williamson, a Los Angeles-based chef and the most-recent winner on Bravo’s “Top Chef” Season 14.

Girl Grey is the first new concept of 2018 to be released nationwide by The Bruery. Known for pushing the boundaries on what can be achieved with flavors in beer, Girl Grey is no exception, thanks to the inventiveness and world-renowned palate of Chef Brooke. The two teamed to create Girl Grey, a Belgian-style ale brewed with lactose, almonds, earl grey tea and natural flavors, offering creamy, floral notes of earl grey tea for all levels of craft beer drinkers to enjoy. Crisp and refreshing, Girl Grey is a complex yet delicate ale coming in at 8.5% ABV.

The Bruery Girl Grey Brew

Girl Grey will be distributed in nearly 30 states across the country and is available now to members of The Bruery Reserve Society® and Hoarders Society®. Girl Grey will also be available to the public on February 14, 2018 at both of The Bruery and Bruery Terreux® tasting room locations, as well as The Bruery Store at Union Market in Washington, D.C. If you don’t want to leave finding this beer to chance, join The Bruery Preservation Society® by March 31, 2018 and receive a bottle with the quarterly membership package.

Officially beginning her career at the young age of 17, Williamson was the youngest chef to ever cook at the James Beard House, and was recently a winner on Bravo’s “Top Chef” in March 2017. Williamson is the Co-owner and Co-chef, along with husband Nick Roberts, of Hudson House in Redondo Beach, The Tripel and Playa Provisions in Playa del Rey, the culinary retail boutique Tripli-Kit, Da Kikokiko in Playa Vista, and Small Batch, an artisanal ice cream shop, in Mar Vista, CA.

As a leader in redefining flavors and roles in the culinary world, Brooke was invited to The Bruery to assist with this brand new ale. Girl Grey is the first of two collaborative efforts between the Orange County-based brewery and Chef Brooke Williamson.

“Last May, we approached Chef Brooke with the idea of introducing her culinary expertise to the craft beer world and helping us concept a new beer that craft beer drinkers and culinary fans alike could appreciate. Collaborating with Chef Brooke was a special experience and an eye-opening approach to discovering new ingredients and unique flavors for craft beer. After fruitful and creative test blendings over multiple sessions, we developed the ideal beer for all generations of beer drinkers to enjoy.”
– Patrick Rue, Founder and CEO of The Bruery

Patrick Rue, one of just 16 individuals to earn the title of Master Cicerone®, believed that introducing an expert chef to The Bruery could create a unique ale that would not only intrigue craft beer drinkers throughout the country, but also introduce a new generation of beer drinkers to cutting-edge flavors and new styles of beer.

“Being a chef, first and foremost, I felt like my ultimate goal with creating the perfect collaboration beer was to balance the important uniqueness in flavor profile, while remaining food-friendly. This beer to me does just that. It’s a perfect blend of creamy richness and complex floral notes, making for a wide variety of food pairing options. I’m inclined to go tart and sweet, like biscuits with lemon curd, or banana cream pie, but at the same time, it’s versatile and subtle enough to work with spiced mole chicken and toasted almond rice. It really is the perfect food beer.”
– Chef Brooke Williamson

In addition to helping brew Girl Grey, Chef Brooke also helped concept a new sour beer collaboration with Bruery Terreux, the sour and wild beer label for The Bruery. Kyuri Dragon is an oak-aged sour ale with bright, tropical notes of dragon fruit, rambutan, kaffir lime leaf and lychee, balanced by the refreshing addition of cucumbers. The beer will be released this spring exclusively to members of The Bruery Reserve Society and Hoarders Society.

In conjunction with the public release of Girl Grey, The Bruery is hosting “An Evening with Chef Brooke Williamson” at the tasting room at Bruery Terreux (1174 N Grove St, Anaheim, CA 92806) on Thursday, February 15, 2018 from 7pm – 8pm. Fans will be treated to a Meet & Greet with Chef Brooke Williamson, plus a special pairing prepared by Chef Brooke, available to purchase with any taster or glass of Girl Grey. Guests will also have an opportunity to have purchased bottles of Girl Grey signed by Chef Brooke.

Full event details are available on The Bruery Events Calendar.