Behind the Barrel: Crafting a Gratzer with Town Brewing Co

Lost Worlds Brewing Director of Brewing and Head Brewer, DG Gonzalez and Town Brewing Co. Director of Brewing, Brian Quinn enjoying their Czerk Gratzer in the brew house at Town Brewing

This collaboration was about more than two brewers connecting to create a new beer. It was much bigger than that.  Town Brewing invited Lost Worlds to participate in their Perfect Pairings Beer Dinner and the beer was just one delicious piece.  This was the first time since the pandemic they’ve been able to host their Perfect Pairings concept and the reboot did not disappoint.

 Brian Quinn, Director of Brewing for Town Brewing Co, explains the premise like this: “We like to expose our taproom customer to a brewery they might not have tried yet, either new to the market or outside of the Charlotte community, and we like to do it in a way that increases the engagement with a beer dinner and a chance to meet the brewers.”  Quin comes from a “rising tide raises all ships” mindset and feels that helping new neighbors do well is good for the craft industry overall.

 Long-time friends and colleagues, Quinn and Lost Worlds Director of Brewing, David Gonzalez, sat down several weeks ago to settle on a style of beer for their collab. They landed on a historic polish gratzer, not something a lot of folks around here may be familiar with, but a style that excited both team.

“When we decided on a gratzer, we talked about the flavors and tasting notes with our Chef, Jeff McElwee,” says Quinn. “When Jeff decided on a Tonkotsu Ramen to pair with the Gratzer, we leaned into the Asian flavors and then choose other courses and beers to pair.”

“It’s a cool style and fit right into our wheelhouse at Lost Worlds,” says Gonzalez. “We’re very happy with how this beer turned out – it’s crisp and flavorful with a faint smokiness that not overpowering. We used an oak smoked wheat malt to give it the faint smokiness and added a hint of salt.”

The beer dinner included five courses; two of the courses paired with Town Brewing’s beer, two of the courses paired with Lost Worlds’ beer and one course featuring the collab brew – named, Czersk Gratzer. The owners and brewers and chef talked about each dish and beer pairing as the night flowed. Craft City Films added a touch of Hollywood to the night, with cameras rolling while craft beer influencer, Lindsay, aka @hoppyhayes, moderated the beer meal like a boss.

In Lost Worlds’ tradition, beers are named with nod to the region, a point of time in history or an explorer/adventurer. This gratzer is named after Czersk Castle, built in the late 14th century, in Poland on top of an ancient graveyard.  During this period of prosperity, the castle was rumored to be protected by a dragon. Local legends persist to this day of a hidden treasure on the castle grounds, a treasure dating back to before the days of the Roman Empire.

“For me, these collaborations are all about the camaraderie and making something great together - swapping stories, talking about the equipment from a different perspective and seeing outside of your blinders,” said Gonzalez.

 More About Town Brewing

For local Lake Norman drinker who may not have ventured down to Town Brewing, located in Freemorewest, it’s well worth the trip. On the cusp of their third anniversary, they won back-to-back gold medals for their session sour, Cruise to Nowhere. With an experienced brewer at the helm, this brew pub serves an amazing menu – so make a night of your visit.

 “Our growth has been demand-driven,” says Quinn, “the popularity of Spratt’s is the impetus  for growing their brew house, adding new tanks and a canning line.  You may have seen their Spratt’s premium lager in 12 0z. cans, unique to this market. The new canning line will also enable Town to offer one-off can releases in the future.

 Quinn, who grew up in the Huntersville area, says it’s great to see the Lake Norman beer scene expand.  “Craft breweries in this area were hard to come by years ago.”