Brewer's Reserve #5

Bottle Release Date:

Brewer's Reserve #2 & #3

GUEUZE-LAMBIC, 4.2% ABV
Bottle Release Dates:
September 2022, January 2023

These batches are light but complex with notes of sour tropical fruit and hints of vanilla due to the extensive aging on American Oak. Each of these barrels were periodically fed with fresh Belgian-style ale to feed the yeast & bacteria.

BLEND COMPOSITION
Batches #2 & #3 are a blend of 3 barrels each.

• 15% of this batch is the original Sour Sleepy Alligator Saison, which was innoculated with a blend of wild yeast and bacteria in 2018 and has been aging in chardonnay barrels ever since.
  

• 70% is another version and batch of Sleepy Alligator Saison, also aging in Chardonnay barrels with a special blend of wild yeast and bacteria, souring since 2019.
  

• 15% is a blend of fruited German- and Belgian-style ales from a Sauterne's barrel, aging since 2019 on a large pitch of bacteria and wild yeast. Fruits used in this barrel include passionfruit and mango, giving hints of tropical tartness to the overall complexity of Blend #2's sour flavor profile.

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Brewer's Reserve #1

First and foremost, this ale is a labour of love and patience, and no shortcuts have been taken in creating this beer.

Owner and Head Brewer Jon Christiansen began souring the Brewer’s Reserve Lambic, our first blended Gueuze-Lambic, in 2018. ​

Driven by a passion for aged Belgian beer, Brewer Jon has dreamed of releasing a true Gueuze-Lambic since the mid-2000s when he studied the world of beer in Belgium and across Europe.

Although not spontaneously fermented, Brewer’s Reserve Batch #1 has all the hallmark qualities of a true Gueuze-Lambic: blended from 100% barrel-aged Belgian-style ales, each aged for up to 3 years.

THE BASE

The first thing that makes this a Gueuze is the base ale that has been brewed here at Zymurgy. Wheat, oats, and barley make up the original grain bill. A portion of the grain bill was unmalted wheat to give the wild yeast and bacteria something to feast on years after primary fermentation was complete. We included a small addition of Saaz hops, but not enough to inhibit any bacteria or wild yeast activity.

THE BLEND

Brewer’s Reserve Batch #1 is a combination of two saisons and a fruited hefeweizen that were soured and aged for 1.5 to 3 years in un-charred American oak wine barrels.

For the larger portion of this blend, Brewer Jon used a saison yeast strain in the primary fermentation, then transferred the beer to the barrels immediately after fermentation slowed.

Brewer Jon is also a bit fanatical about German hefeweizens, so he fermented a small portion of this blend with a German weisse yeast strain in the primary fermentation - just to add a little touch of whimsy and personality.

THE CULTURES

The cultures in each barrel and batch will vary widely, but all of our favorite yeast and bacteria have been invited to the party long ago. Some of the cultures used to sour one of the barrels were propagated four years before we even opened our doors here at Zymurgy.

In addition to controlled wild yeast & bacteria being added to each barrel months before blending, the cherished “dregs” from Jon’s favorite classic Belgian Lambic & Gueuze producers have been pitched into the barrels in an attempt to match a desired Belgian microflora.​

SECONDARY FERMENTATION ADDITIONS

Yeast : Brettanomyces lambicus

Bacteria : Bruxelliensis, lactobacilli, pediococcus, & misc. dregs.​