Fort Point Beer Company’s New Gemini Beer is a Tribute to Summer

Fort Point Gemini can and glass photo courtesy Fort Point Beer

Brasserie Fantôme located in the village of Soy in Belgium is known for creating unique takes on saison-style or Belgian farmhouse ale and the creative use of herbs, fruits, and spices. Established in 1988, Fantôme is legendary among craft brewers and lovers of craft beer. It was a visit to the brewery by Mike Schnebeck, the director of innovation and brewing from San Francisco’s Fort Point Beer Company that inspired Gemini, a brand new Saison beer flavored with peaches and mint.

Schnebeck shared a beer and a conversation with Brasserie Fantôme’s famed brewer Dany Prignon and his mother that led to his own home brewing experiments creating a Saison with mint, peach juice, and white sage. The final beer however relies on just mint and peach. According to Schnebeck, “When brainstorming Gemini, there was some appeal to having a single fruit and single herb to highlight the theme of duality. Gemini gives a nod to the original recipe but wasn't intended to be a replica. Simplifying the recipe to include peach juice and mint felt very Fort Point, and like a way for it to stand out.” 

The beer combines 3 different kinds of hops, but Schnebeck shares that the hops really take a backseat in this beer, adding that “Warrior is used for a little bit of bitterness and isn't contributing any flavor or aroma. Saphir and Hallertau Mittelfrüh are two German varieties that we use in some of our lighter lager-style beers. The goal was to let the peach, mint, and yeast do most of the aroma work, so the hops really stay out of the way, but together they are grassy with some subtle citrus.” 

While it’s a bit early in the season for fresh peaches, Fort Point relies on peach puree from Oregon Fruit. Oregon Fruit is a family-run business out of Oregon known for delicious, high-quality, locally grown fruit. 

Schnebeck says the beer is very effervescent and the mint creates a cooling sensation, “I think it'd be nice with spicy Southeast Asian foods - curries, papaya salad, grilled meat with lots of citrus. Saisons also typically pair well with creamy, soft-ripened cheeses.” The combination of peach and mint is fresh and juicy but also sophisticated and a quick search online turns up a confit of peaches and mint recipe from none other than Thomas Keller of The French Laundry restaurant. The mild tartness of the beer along with the floral yeast character are indeed a fine complement to cheeses such as French or American soft rind style cheeses such as brie or Camembert.

Because it’s a seasonal beer available in late spring/early summer, it made me think of chèvre or goat’s milk cheese which is also prevalent this time of year. I paired the beer with two different goat’s milk cheese, Andante’s Acapella a tangy, fresh soft rind cheese from Northern California, and Bethmale chèvre, made and aged in France for 5 months. I also tried it with Swiss cow’s milk cheese aged over 6 months, Appenzeller. The refreshing quality of the beer best complemented the mlld aged chèvre and the Alpine style Appenzeller cheese.

Fort Point Gemini photo courtesy Fort Point Beer

The beer is on the lower end of the alcohol spectrum for a saison, clocking in at 6.3%. A summer beer, it evokes flavors of summer, and is named for the zodiac sign that kicks off the summer season in May and June. The beer became available on June 1 and will be available for a month or so at their brick and mortar locations and online.