Peabody's Granite Coast Brewing Shops Local With Newhall Fields Hops

PEABODY, MA — Peabody's Granite Coast Brewing is taking the spirit of "shop local" to the next level with its new Wet Hopped American Pale Ale using hops freshly harvested from Newhall Fields Community Farm.

This is the second collaboration with Newhall Fields with the new 5.6 percent ABV brew making its debut in time for Mass Beer Week from March 1 through March 8.

"Collaborations are increasingly common as breweries partner with local farms and growers, and it doesn't get any more local than this," Granite Coast Head Brewer Jeff Marquis told Patch. "Newhall Fields is just a few minutes away. We see a lot of benefits of working with such a local partner. The local sourcing lends to sustainability with a reduction in transportation emissions."

Kasey Sampson, who harvested the hops, brought them directly to the brewery's location on Main Street.

"It allows us to offer fresh ingredients and honors a long-standing tradition of local ingredients being used in the brewing process," Marquis said. "We're also able to share where the ingredients came from and the work that goes into the care, growth and harvest of the hops.

"Most of all, using local ingredients highlights local assets, in this case Newhall Fields, bringing attention to this great community resource."

Granite Coast said the Wet Hopped Pale Ale showcases Cascade, Columbus, and Centennial hops, delivering a traditional West Coast hop profile: "The result is a smooth beer with a balanced, pleasant bitterness. Expect hints of pine and resin, with a subtle citrus undertone and a light, aromatic chlorophyll note from the locally sourced hops."

This is the first pale ale that Marquis used the Newhall hops for after previously using them in a West Coast Style IPA.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)