Barrelworks beers are born from the tradition of blending.
Traditional beer brewing is like baking – Follow the recipe, take the right steps in brewing and cleaning, and the beer should be relatively consistent (*This is an extreme over-generalization, but stick with us for the analogy).
Blending is like painting. It requires a lot of different paint colors, they need to be layered properly to complement each other, and there’s no exact, correct answer.
Brambling Bones is the epitome of what Master Blender Jim Crooks creates at Barrelworks. Each finished wild ale is a blend of component beers selected from a broad palate of barrels with various contents, yeast cultures, and stages of maturity. Jim often starts with a vision: what the final beer will embody, with an idea of the drinking experience in the forefront of his mind.
The concept of Brambling Bones was a beer full of deep, dark fruit.
When exploring a base beer perfect for layering on complexity, Jim selected a Belgian amber ale sent to us by Brewery Ommegang – Rare Vos. Rare Vos is balanced, mellow, fruity and spicy. The additional 16 months of maturation in our retired wine barrels with house yeast cultures made for a beautiful canvas for the next additions.
To add the essence of bright red fruit, Jim layered in three more beers. First up was Barrelworks’ Bretta Rosé – adding California raspberries, next was Leifman’s Cuvée – a black cherry beer from our Belgian friends, and to round it out, Barrelworks’ Undercurrants, which adds character with significant black currant depth.
Lastly, a search for the finishing touches – a component beer for balance. Whale Rock, a wild pale ale brewed with Central California sauvignon blanc grape juice and Hallertau Blanc hops, that adds a touch of vinous and floral notes.
We are proud to present Brambling Bones. Behold – a bright beer full of cherries, black currants, raspberries, and white grapes to be enjoyed and savored.
Purchase the beer on our website, but hurry, there are only 130 bottles available.
