This article first appeared in Yankee Brew News
Nichole Pelletier gets a lot of attention in Rhode Island for being one of the only female brewmasters around. Similarly, Crooked Current Brewery in Pawtucket, which she co-owns with husband Jason Lourenco, gets frequent mentions in the local press due to its name, a cheeky reference to this state’s reputation for political criminals.
But here’s what I think should be top billing in any form of media: Crooked Current’s brewmaster? She’s one of the best in Rhode Isalnd.
I’m thrilled to choose Crooked Current for my first Women in Beer column and share insights on how Nichole is creating memorable and award-winning beers that go beyond state lines.
What’s your process when you get inspired to create a new beer? My recipe formulation approach is to design a beer around a theme or ingredient, as opposed to taking a specific ‘by the book’ style of beer and adding stuff to it. Every brewer has their own style; for example, some brewers might say: “I want to brew an Imperial Stout and throw some vanilla and coffee in it.” My approach is: “I want to brew with vanilla and coffee, but I need to figure out how to let those flavors shine without going over the top or losing the flavor in the beer. I don’t think either approach is right or wrong, though; we are all just trying our best as brewers to make a great product!
Tell us about your award-winning Neapolitan Brown Ale (yes, like the ice cream!) The idea for this beer came from my husband Jason in 2015, who I asked to help me think of a beer inspired by ice cream for the season, and he said immediately: “How about Neapolitan?” This was one of my toughest challenges as a brewer! I had zero frame of reference on how to accomplish the task of brewing a beer with three distinct flavors. Sure, I could simply brew a beer with chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry and call it Neapolitan, but that wouldn’t have been true to the kind of brewer I am. It was imperative to me that each flavor would stand out individually, so I searched liquor stores around the state for an example of a Neapolitan beer to no avail. At the time in 2015, the craft beer landscape was primarily hop bombs (pale ales, IPAs etc.) so this beer was a gamble, both from a recipe formulation standpoint and from a stylistic business trend. But from the start, my goal has been to not follow trends, but to brew beer that would stand out in the craft beer landscape, and ultimately, I realized that I would just have to carve my own path. Since then, for all these reasons and more, Neapolitan continues to rank #1 for our best-selling year-round beer.
Tell us about your Saison with toasted Szechuan peppercorn and sweet orange peel, a Ming’s Asian Street Food collaboration (and in this writer’s top five best beers ever tasted): How did the idea come together? Wow, that’s a huge compliment, thank you! We have some of the best neighbors anyone could ask for at Lorraine Mills, and among our great neighbors are Josh and Korn, who own Ming’s. On their oneyear anniversary, I asked them if he wanted to brew a collab, and to give me an idea of a specific ingredient that would encapsulate the essence of their dishes. They came up with Szechuan peppercorns, and I got to work researching and formulating how to showcase this ingredient. I decided on a saison, which is already inherently peppery from the yeast, toasted the peppercorn and added them fresh to both the boil as well as post fermentation. I then decided to add some sweet orange peels to the boil for complexity and balance, as well as Citra hops. The result was gorgeous; the peppercorns are light and delicate, and don’t add any real degree of ‘heat’ to the beer but instead the most unique and interesting flavor that you’d just need to taste to understand! I spent countless hours researching to try and get it just right on the first shot, and there’s nothing I’d do differently if I were to brew it again!
You’re known for going all out for the holidays and making beers like Fruitcake, Gingerbread, and Eggnog, which are surprisingly subtle in flavor instead of sweet monstrosities. What’s the inspiration behind these popular pours? I don’t have any formal background in culinary, but everyone thinks that I do thanks to some of the beers that I make! As I mentioned, brewing is a personal creative process, and my goal as a brewer is to create unique flavor experiences. By marrying these two concepts (my personal favorite holiday indulgences + my goal of creating unique flavor profiles), that’s how many of my popular holiday beers were born. For example, nothing says Christmas time to me more than eggnog, so naturally, I had to figure out how to create an eggnog milk stout! And in the fall, the obvious flavor choice is pumpkin, but there are thousands of pumpkin beers on the market. It was imperative that my pumpkin beer had to stand out, and it just so happens that for me, nothing says “fall” more than pumpkin pie with a scoop of maple walnut ice cream on top, and our pumpkin maple ale was born. I love the challenge of creating beers that change people’s perceptions. There have been so many people over the years who have walked into Crooked Current to see beers like these on tap and been skeptical, but pleasantly surprised at the result, and they appreciate the opportunity to try something different and unique. I believe this is one of the main reasons why we have such high customer ratings, reviews, and retention.
You can often find Nichole serving pours behind the counter of Crooked Current Brewery, located at 560 Mineral Spring Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.
