Talisman Brewing Company, Brewmaster and Founder Dusty Williams; Co-Founder and CFO Joann Williams Ogden, Utah
Talisman Brewing Company’s very first seasonal beer was such a hit that by the end of 2016 customers were pleading with brewery owners Dusty and Joann Williams to add it to the permanent line-up.
They responded, and Killer Grove became a staple at the Ogden, Utah, brewery a year ago. An American-style wheat beer, Killer Grove is brewed with The Perfect Purée Blood Orange Concentrate and honey malt. Its golden straw color emits a fresh aroma of citrus and orange zest with slightly tart undertones of honey. Mild and refreshing, it makes for such easy drinking that brewery staff warn its low ABV (4%) might catch up with you if you’re not careful.
Joann says a friend who works in business development for a local food service company recommended The Perfect Purée when Talisman was looking for a natural, preservative-free fruit base for its seasonal beers. She says the tart flavor profile of The Perfect Purée Blood Orange Concentrate is a wonderful complement to the sweeter honey malt base grain.
“We use the Blood Orange Concentrate after fermentation in the secondary fermentation process,” Joann says. “This is where we get the best use of flavor prior to carbonating it.”
Joann says Talisman has played around with a few other flavors and recently tested The Perfect Purée Mango Puree.
“We’re looking forward to using some of the fruity flavors for rotating beers that will only be available at our tavern,” she says.
Talisman represents a good luck charm for Dusty, an Air Force veteran who has always been interested in the craft beer industry and had the good fortune to pursue his dream when he retired from the Air Force. Talisman’s distinctive logo is a Celtic knot in the shape of a trinity that symbolizes past, present and future. The outer points of the knot resemble hop leaves.
“A Talisman is a symbol of good luck,” explains Joann on the brewery website. “We figured that if we were opening a brewery in Utah, we probably needed a little full-time luck.”
Along with his career in the Air Force, Dusty worked as a systems engineer at companies such as Lockheed Martin Aeronautics and Tech Team Global. Joann’s background is in marketing and human resources management. The brewery believes in balancing beer with health and wellness and offers an intersection of the two with Beer Yoga. Talisman also offers tours and tastings that teach visitors some of the science and precision behind brewing that Dusty is so passionate about.