Origins is our series of wine and barrel aged beer hybrids. This edition was was a blend of 2 year old barrels and 400 lbs of Grenache that underwent a week of carbonic maceration prior to blending. This blend is light, mellow and funky, and great introduction for those who appreciate good natural wines. Bottles are 750ml, and are $21 each. This batch was released in May, 2021.
This batch of Formation was blended from 4 oak barrels of about 1 year in age. This batch is juicy, spicy and with a moderate earthy acidity. Bottles are 750ml, and $18 each. Batch #3 was released in February, 2021.
SLO-MO 2020 was blended from 2 year old barrels from our Solera, and aged on cherry and blackberry purée. It tastes of bright, lush cherries, with just a touch of blackberry jam, finishing light and refreshing. 6%, 750ml, $21 each. Batch #3 was released in February of 2021.
Informal #5 is a continuation of our one-off series, exploring new ingredients and working with what we have at hand. For this addition we fermented a strong Saison on the leftover grape must from Origins / Sangiovese, and then refermented in on New Jersey cranberry honey, and finally blended back with a cask of 3 year old barrel aged golden ale. The resulting beer has an aroma of fresh berries and funk, and the taste is of fresh berries and stone fruits, with a lingering mead-like finish. Bottles and draft, 8.5% abv. Released, July 2020.
Vieux Selection is the culmination of 3 years of careful beer preservation and maturation in oak barrels. We’ve been inspired to do much of what we do, but the tradition of Belgian Lambic. Our favorite being Geuze, the blend of 1, 2 and 3 year old barrel aged beers. While our process differs from traditional Lambic in significant ways, the inspiration still comes through in the bottle. This beer has complex layers of flavor that come from the careful selection of barrels to blend. The aroma is earthy, minerally and spicy, the taste is a balance of tart fruits, woody resinous sweetness, and pithy bitterness. While being one of the most complex beers we have ever made, it’s still easy to drink. Bottles and draft, 7.5% abv. Released June of 2020.
Sangiovese is the another in our series of wine grape focussed beers. This one may be our favorite yet. We did a carbonic maceration on the whole grapes before racking a blend of 2 year barrel aged golden ales on, initiating a careful secondary fermentation. The resulting beer is a lovely claret, with vinous aromas, and plenty of wine grape character melding gracefully with our old barrel stock. Bottles and draft, 6% abv. Released January of 2020.
Informal #4 is a continuation of our one-off series, exploring new ingredients and working with what we have at hand. For this addition, we made a blend of barrel aged golden ales, and refermented it with whole New Jersey Cranberries. The resulting beer is a pale pink, with an estery aroma, and both sweetness and bitterness from the fruit, resting on a nice, complex barrel character. Bottles and draft, 6% abv. Released in the fall of 2019
Informal #2 is a blend of young and old barrel aged golden ales, that was dry-hopped with East Kent Goldings. This is a great expression of our house barrel character, and the dry hopping accentuates that nicely. Draft only, 6%, released January 2019.
Informal is a new series of one-off beers, focussed on using our barrel stock in new ways. This version is a take on Saison de Coupage, the historical practice of blending old barrel aged beer into young saison to hasten it’s maturity. For this version we brewed a bitter 7% farmhouse ale, and blended it 80:20 with 2 year old barrel aged golden ale, we then conditioned it on second use Carménère wine grapes for a few months. Draft, 7%, released in January 2019. Bottles available now.
This is the second in our annual series of barrel aged beers fermented with wine grapes. This version is a blend of 5 barrels that refermented on whole Carménère wine grapes for around 3 months. The resulting beer has a beautiful purple color, a lovely barrel aroma, and drinks like a wonderful marriage of the grape and the selected beer. 6% ABV, 750ml bottles, released in November of 2018.