Triceratops Brewing and Well 80 Brewing Bring the Past to Life
Sometimes two brewers become friends first and collaborators second. Consider the case of Rob Horn of Triceratops Brewing and Chris Knudson and Paul Pearson of Well 80 Artesian Brewing. Their friendship existed. Eventually, it evolved into something you can drink.
Introducing Leotucky Lager, a 5% ABV collab lager that blends Triceratop’s beloved Pennsyltucky Lager with a recipe pulled straight from the annals of Washington’s brewing history: Leopold’s Original Lager, the beer that put Olympia Brewing Company on the map.
Let’s keep all the beers in the backstory straight. Pennsyltucky Lager is an award-winning amber lager from Triceratops. Leopold’s Original is the historic, gone-but-not-forgotten original Olympia beer. Leopold’s Original 1896 Lager (Leo’s lager) is Well 80’s recreation of that historic brew. Leotucky Lager is the new beer and, ultimately, the topic of this story.
A Pliny of its Day
Let’s hop in the Wayback Machine for a second, because beer history is cool. When German immigrant Leopold Schmidt founded what would become Olympia Brewing Company in 1896, he introduced an American Lager built on quality over gimmicks — moderate in alcohol, modest in hops, and crafted with the region’s soon-to-be-famous artesian spring water. The very original Olympia Beer: Leopold’s Original.
Paul Knight, who served as Olympia’s brewmaster from 1961 to 1997, had some thoughts about Leopold’s Original: “It should be considered a craft beer of its time,” Knight said, noting that the beer made the brewery and Leopold Schmidt himself famous nationwide. A Pliny of its day.
Anyway, let’s talk about this new beer. Leotucky Lager is built on two things: Leopold’s pre-Prohibition, malt-forward foundation and Triceratops’ crisp, award-winning amber lager. It’s described as full-flavored without losing any of its approachability. A beer that manages to honor the past while earning a place on today’s tap list.
Knudson, who founded Well 80, has clearly done his homework on this one. “I’m fascinated by local history and the rise of the Olympia Brewery,” he said. “Olympia Beer in the late 1800s and early 1900s parallels the growth and development of our region. The original release [of Leopold’s first lager] was in the fall of 1896, only seven years after Washington became a state.” And then, because apparently even historians know what’s really important: “To boot, the beer is fantastic!”
Horn’s version of the story is a little more personal and a little more fun. “I was a fan of great lagers before I even started homebrewing years and years ago,” he said. “And every once in a while, Paul and I will blend [Pennsytucky] with Leo’s Lager just for fun.”
Thirteen Presidents, 130 Years, Two Breweries, One Beer
Blending two beers on the fly, turning that inside joke into an actual release, doing it alongside two of his industry friends, using a recipe old enough to have outlived over a dozen U.S. presidents? Why not? This is craft beer where creativity and, often, fun rule the roost.
Oh — and they canned it. Which means somewhere out there right now, there’s a beer can featuring a 19th-century brewing baron riding a three-horned dinosaur. That makes me smile.
Leotucky Lager hits the Triceratops tasting room in Tumwater and Well 80’s brewpub in Olympia starting this Friday, July 31st, with select retailers across western Washington picking it up on shelves and tap lists in the weeks that follow. Keep an eye on Triceratops’ and Well 80’s social media channels in case more details emerge.
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