Before even brewing this beer I spent over a year learning about and experimenting with traditional and ancient beer styles, especially from Northern Europe. Among the styles that I researched and even brewed myself, one that stood out was the Norwegian kornøl (en. grain beer), an unboiled farmhouse ale fermented with kweik and brewed with juniper branches. Inspired by that style, I got together with Higgins Ale Works to brew a small experimental batch using juniper branches (Juniperus communis) foraged from the Bavarian Alps. We steeped these overnight to get a concentrated infusion which we then used for mashing along with bitter orange for adjusting pH. Unlike the traditional recipe, we did do a short boil on our batch just to ensure that it's pasteurized and sanitary. Experimenting further, we also decided to use Elixir hops, a variety from France that was new to both of us but one with an aroma profile that seemed to really complement this beer style. We split the batch in two, running half of it through a hop rocket with generous amounts of hops just before kegging, but since the differences were negligible in the end we decided to just blend the two kegs. What resulted was a modern interpretation of a traditional style, with rich mouthfeel and deep bronze color, boasting with flavors of honey and pear, along with hints of hay and tropical fruit.