Follow Sean Inman to the best in craft beer
When I was at the Venice locale of Firestone Walker, I noticed this poster…
I was immediately drawn to the bottle on the left, seeing as how not to many Saisons come our way from Firestone Walker. I am sure that many more are drooling over the Parabola with aging on wine barrels.
Thanks to a breeze that moves yeast and cultures from peach orchards into the brewhouse (as it were), the latest Estate offering from Sierra Nevada has a unique peach/wine/beer hybrid effect. I had lost track of this line but this might reinvigorate my interest in their farming.
Wine barrel aging has drifted a bit towards sours from my experience but this coming option from AleSmith might be an even better use for the vino.
A good Quadrupel will have a vinous quality and the depth to stand up to whatever tannins are left-over from the wine. Making a complex beer, more complex.
Tusk & Grain, the barrel-aged arm of Saint Archer (a division of Miller/Coors) has amped up the Gose style with a Pinot Noir Barrel Aged version.
Their version “has been enhanced with the addition of brettanomyces then nurtured in pinot noir barrels, sculpting its identity. Oak. Funk. Tart.”
Imagine salt,coriander and hops with used Pinot barrels and you get a vinous note addition as well.
Unfortunately, like the second release from T&G, this is San Diego only.
Ardent followers of these posts will know that Mikkeller graces these pages at least once a month and that one of my favorite beers of the past couple years was the Mikkeller Single Hop Ale made from Nelson Sauvin hops.
To celebrate the last new year, Mikkeller brewed Nelson Sauvignon. Again using Nelson hops and aging the new creation in white wine barrels. It never made it stateside.
But here is the good news. The newest iteration Nelson Sauvin Brut will arrive in the US next year. It is the champagne inspired version.
From the Deshchutes team…
This ‘Super Jubel’ was discovered by accident two decades ago when a clumsy burglar didn’t realize the weight of his stolen keg of Jubelale. He dropped it outside to freeze in the season’s sub-zero temperatures – only to be discovered the next morning by Gary Fish, Deschutes Brewery owner. More than half the liquid in the keg had frozen and the remaining beer was a very cold, highly concentrated ‘Jubelale on steroids.’ It was so good that the brewers set about recreating it, coming up with an annual ‘Super Jubel’ that is aged in oak barrels. A limited amount has been available on tap every year, 2010 will be only the second time that the brewery has bottled up this brew for sale. The first time it was available by bottle was a special millennium edition in 2000.”