Binny’s Beer Collab - Maplewood x Binny’s
My Cousin Binny Vol. 5 French-style Pilsner

That’s right, My Cousin Binny is back! While famous for IPAs, Maplewood’s been quietly crafting a solid lineup of lagers for years, which inspired us to once again collaborate on a hoppy lager. For this edition we broke with tradition, and instead of highlighting hops from the Southern Hemisphere, we turned our sights to across the pond to craft a French-style Pilsner.

Great lagers capture the flavor and culture of a place, transporting the drinker through the magic of fermentation and terroir. We invite you join us as we raise a glass to the flavors of Alsace. Situated along the Rhine River, this region of France is famous for a comingling of cultures, one where brewing and hop cultivation has been celebrated for centuries. Strisselspalt is the iconic hop of the Alsace. Grown in fields outside of Strasbourg, this delicately floral and herbaceous variety serves as the parent to many modern French varieties. For My Cousin Binny Volume 5 we combined Strisselspalt with Alsatian grown Fuggle hops. A true testament to the influence of terroir, this iconic English hop varietal takes on a unique character when grown in Alsace, imparting lovely floral and spicy notes.

For the malt bill we incorporated Sugar Creek’s French Pilsner malt. It’s a mixture of two different barleys with French parentage, both grown and malted at Sugar Creek Malt Co. in Boone Country Indiana. The first is Thoroughbred, a 6-row variety developed at Virginia Tech’s Small Grain Breeding Program. The second is Avalon, a 2-row variety with Thoroughbred as one of its parents.

We hope you share some of this refreshing pilsner with friends over good food and conversation. Raise a glass with us this Fourth of July as a salute to the French, who aided America in achieving independence. To Washington, Lafayette, Franklin, Comte de Grasse and all those who fought for freedom - Vive la Liberté!

Tasting Notes

Sparkling golden in color, the nose here is fresh and floral, with a bright streak of minerality. Medium in body, the Sugar Creek French pilsner malt imparts a rounded and bready malt character with a subtle touch of honey. The invigorating finish is spicy and herbaceous, with lingering notes of thyme, lemon peel, cinnamon, and mint. This food friendly pilsner is a perfect match alongside the charcuterie tray. A must try alongside rich blue cheese and the Alsatian classic Tarte Flambée.