OUR BEERS
DETAILS ON ENJOYING OUR BEERs
We like to code every beer that hits your lips! Each beer is a unique bottling from a single select wine barrel (60gallons) up to 230 gallons with aging in new French oak barrels, our French oak foeders . Our lot number is to the right of the alcohol content beginning with the year, month and date of bottling followed by the batch number (or, in our case, barrel number: #17 on the photo above with a packing date of 1/13/15) . If you have questions or would like to request more information about your beer don't hesitate to email us (please provide a lot number) and we can offer you more in-depth info.
Please Note: We are NOT trying to brew to style so please use the style stated on the label as a reference rather than a clear-cut definition of what we have brewed.
All of our beers are naturally carbonated in the bottle or the keg - which means that, thanks to this secondary (or in some cases tertiary) fermentation, they are ever-evolving. For maximum enjoyment, chill our beers well (35 to 39 F) and allow the natural yeast in the bottle to settle prior to serving. Then slowly decant off this yeast into your glassware. We also suggest you serve our beers in wine glasses or bowled glass ware, allowing for the carbonation to evolve as well as the beer to breathe. As it warms the flavors will continue to evolve in the glass. Dont be alarmed by a cloudy or turbid appearance as our beers tend to have 'chill haze' when really cold, the result of their unfined and unfiltered characteristics. Chill haze is a reflection of how raw and pure our beers are. As they warm up, you will see clarity return to the beers.
Our beers will show best from 3 to 8 months of cool/cellar aging after the bottling date (see above). If stored properly, (bottle up-right at 40-50 F), they will continue to age well beyond a year and often timing is a matter of preference rather than a requirement.
The wolf in sheep’s clothing - Dunkel roggen ale
BREWER’SNOTES:
A new beer in the line up because we needed one! We have only brewed this once in 2022 and look forward to the next 40% malted rye mash that take the whole day to do a proper run off from the mash tun….Is it worth it, Hell YEAH! A beer brewed with the spice of malted rye layered with Bavarian Wheat yeast love and barrel aged to tune in these characters to a harmony not seen nor tasted since REINHEITSGEBOT was pushed into practice (1516)! This darkly colored and roasted ale is layered with spice from the rye and the yeast and our first bottling was aged in new French Oak for 2 months and released to members. Stand by for this beauty….its coming!
Graff Ale - local apples and malt series
BREWER’S NOTES:
This isn’t really a beer and isn’t really a cider and well we arent sure what it is but its closer to cider than one might think…Lost yet? Ok the first brewing of this elixir came with the apple harvest of 2021 when the Granny Smiths from a winery in the mountains of Napa fell on our lap and we said…yeah! Then got them custom juiced in Occidental (epic little town in west county where we love to ride our bikes), layed them with some other Arkansas Blacks juice to create a tart and slightly tannic apple juice. This was infused with a beer and fermented, then aged for several months before releasing with this new label to our members. A bright cidery beer with subtle tannin and malt notes. The 2022-23 series is more wild and creative. The Todash version is a tribute to the idea that we can often find ourselves between worlds (The Dark Tower Series) thus this is a confluence of wine grapes Petit Verdot (Napa Valley), Arkansas Blacks (Sonoma County) and Malted Barley (Madras Oregon). Its pink, apple driven with light tannin and very low bitterness. This was a done in collaboration with Horse and Plow Cidery/Winery in Sebastopol. We then did another batch with Horse and Plow that is 100% SONOMA COUNTY grown (hops/water/barley/apples….) where we hopped it more aggressively and then dry hopped with Sirachi Ace and Teamaker from our friends at Blossom and Bine. The base apples for the juice were Arkansas Blacks and Black Twig thus its more tart/tannic and now hoppy…..Look out for this release in the Spring on 2023 and we will have a fall release that is still aging in barrels even more wild!
The Brewers’ Apocalypse ale - the colab series
BREWER’S NOTES:
This crazy label is an old Albert Durer’s 15th Century wood cuts on the end of the world (see link HERE) and we made some of our own artistic tweaks (and added color) on the faces seen in these characters. Nile is seen with a sword and cross while other brewer friends are scattered among the angels and beasts. Life is crazy, short and full of things to learn and discover….’If we feel it, we should brew it!’ thus the idea for this label arose to give us a place to add more creationism within the landscape of beer and our fellow brewers.
The first brew and bottling was with The Ale Apothecary in Bend, Oregon in 2021-2022 when we brewed up at his mountain brewery with a combination of our ingredients and his cultures. After 9 months in a ceramic urn it was hauled down to Mad Fritz for a party and bottling sessions. Its a mix culture, lightly tart saison with our malted blue corn, Napa malted barley and Sonoma County hops.
The second bottling for our membership Q2 -2023 allocations and is a India Pale Lager or perhaps what one might call a TRUE COLD IPA (whats a lager yeast at ale temperatures anyhow…..a steam beer or a India Steam Ale….ISA?) We all know for certain that we brewers can get carried away, thus this beer is no different. Armed with the camaraderie of my old brewing buddys from UC DAVIS cerca 1996 Master Brewers Program we created! We based the beer with the softest spring water we could find in Napa Valley (up in Howell Mtn 20 ppm hardness), mashed in with Colorado Malting Co’s Scarlet Pilsner malt and 20% Napa grown Sonoran un-malted wheat (soft wheat), boiled and finished (hop back) with local Sonoma hops then fermented at 50-52 F for 3 weeks before barreling down to a Foeder for aging for one month. Its bright and hoppy (50 IBUs) and 6.8% ABV. ITs one COOL IPA…….
The King and the Frogs -Liege Style Ale
BREWER’S NOTES:
This beer is part of our Historical Beer Series and was discovered when we were researching more about the origins of Kuyt Ale at Witte Klavervier Brewery’s Website. This beer was originally brewed in the 10th century and was brewed with malted spelt (with the hull on). When we set out to brew it we knew that we needed to get spelt and malt it ourselves….luckily we can floor malt what we need for a 7 to 10 BBL batch at our brewery/malthouse. We sourced spelt with the hull on as you need it to have a proper run off in the mash-tun given a large 60% of spelt in the recipe’s grain bill (30% malted barley and 10%raw Sonoran wheat from Calistoga). It was really interesting to malt and had a nice honeyed flavor that has carried into the beer. Given the hull and the extreme amount we used it was a really full mash! The resulting wort was bittered with local Glacier Hops grown in Sonoma County, fermented with our mixed culture Belgian yeast and aged in neutral French oak for 3 months. The result is a beer that is incredibly dry yet has sweetness of palate , subtle spice , biscuit-honey notes and savory finish. We’ve brewed two versions so far and look to malting and brewing another batch soon in the fall when our malting room is coolers.
The rabbits and the frogs -Kuyt Style Ale
BREWER’S NOTES:
Our Historical Beer Series is our newest journey to offering a look back in time at beers that were brewed most often defined with a different ingredient base thus reflecting a personality that isn’t just focused on malted barley or wheat which seem to be the foundation on most of the current beers of today. These ‘Time-Machine Beers’ offer perspective and a sensory experience that helps open our minds creativity to see beer differently. The Kuyt Ale (also spelled Koyt/Kuit) is a Dutch beer that evolved out of the use of hops around the 12-13th century as Gruit was falling out of favor perhaps due to the taxation levied on the herbal brew from the church or just a new flavor that seemed to attract the consumer. Details to this time are limited yet the receipt to the beer seems relatively set with 50% malted oats, 30% malted barley and 20% malted wheat. Our version uses this ratio of grain, locally grown Crystal Hops from Sonoma County (also similar to the more noble hops recommend in brewing like a Hallertau). We sourced the grains exclusively from Troubadour Malting Co in Fort Collins although one could source from Admiral Malting Co as well. We have been wanting to play with Chris’s malt for some time at Troubadour so this has been a really fun project. We fermented ours with a Kolsch yeast and barrel aged for 2 months. The resulting beer is light, fluffy in palate with mild bitterness, light floral and citrus tones and a subtle phenolic spice undertone. We landed at about 6.5 % ABV so its a lighter style as well as in color although has some body/texture as well.
The Rooster and the partridge - Hefeweizen
BREWER’S NOTES:
The Hefeweizen was a beer we have wanted to brew for many years and we brewed it with our locally grown Sonoran Wheat which is a soft berry and can be quite gummy to mill and takes time in the mash to swell and extract. At 50% of the grain bill and the balance malted barley from Siskiyou County, CA. We aged the first version in freshly emptied Chardonnay barrels for 3 months and it really benefited from the layering of wine notes although a nice hint of spice with a very low level of banana esters. Our more recent bottlings are pushed with higher amounts of Cascade hops (not at all traditional) although really fun and bright with citrus (yes please DO NOT add citrus to this beer!). This beer usually lands at 4.5-5 % ABV and has a honey-malty notes from the Sonoran Wheat and low bitterness. Its a refreshing style that we are super excited to keep brewing even into the winter months although we do have a Weizen Bock as well! We will continue to play with this style and be adding some of our soft Howell Mtn Spring water to it as a layer soon.
The tortoise and the eagle - marzen lager
BREWER’S NOTES:
Our newest lager style is inspired by the flavors with get from our own Napa Valley barley that we Floor Malt at our own Malt House. The toasty and malty-biscuit notes add a complexity of flavor not offered from our brighter pilsner malts. We add a small amount of crystal 100 from Alamosa CO (Colorado Malting Co) and perhaps in the future we will bump up our kiln temps at curing to avoid this. We brew with Tettnanger Hops from Yakima, WA and then ferment at 50 F and warm after 10 days prior to moving to barrel for further lagering. We have been aging for 1 to 3 months in neutral French Oak, some newer oak as well as freshly emptied red wine barrels. The first release will be with our membership allocation in May of 2020. Look out for this beer in months to come as we unviel other barrel lagered versions.
Zodiac - Experimental hop - india pale ale
BREWER’S NOTES:
Our newest IPA is an experimental approach using NEW HOP VARIETIES bred, selected and grown in collaboration with the Hop Breeding Company or HBC which is a partnership between two long time hop growers in the North West. Our first batch was with HBC 692 which is a wild expression of tropical fruit, lactones of subtle coconut and strawberries. The base malts come from Admiral Malting Co in Alameda CA although most are all CA grown. This first packaging is with ‘Gallaghers Best’ grown in Yolo County and adds a nice malty backbone to the beer…Its not all about hops! We aged briefly in oak for settling as the 4# hops per barrel (31 gallons) is added in the fermenter after 2 days. We need to rough rack and settle so we can bottle it unfiltered. Our next version will be with HBC 431 so look for that in the coming months.
jupiter and the camel - pilsner lager
BREWER’S NOTES:
We love Pilsners and crisp lagers so this beer is a natural fit in our line up of beers. All it took was a few folks to ask for it and we brewed it. This style is Czech or Bohemian in style typically about 45 IBUs and between 5 to 5.5 %ABV.
This beer’s base is Scarlet 2 row Pilsner Malt from Alamosa Colorado, water from St Helena’s reservoirs, Noble hops of Tettnanger and Hallertau from Yakima, WA then innoculate with Pilsner Urquell lager Yeast. We ferment at 50 F for about 10 days before warming and racking. This beer is kettle hopped as well as fermenter hopped (mid way through) to offer fresh and bright hop aromatics, typically Tettnanger in the fermenter. We typically rack to barrel after 2 weeks in the fermenter, then age in neutral French Oak 500 L puncheons although we have lagered it in new French Oak as well. Don’t expect to see this beer year around although we’d love to keep it around us at all times!
the Dolphin and the fish- Gluten Free IPA
BREWER'S NOTES:
Our first beer brewed with 'alternative malted grains' sourced from a gluten free maltster in Colorado, Grouse Malting Co . The base grains are malted millet, malted buckwheat and some rice hulls to assist in the extraction process, thus this beer has ZERO gluten containing ingredients. We made sure to have Grouse do our milling so there would be no cross contamination with our malt mill. We hopped this beer with Citra and Amarillo from Yakima WA , then fermented with a Gluten Free ale yeast similar to American Ale yeast. After primary fermentation we aged this beer in 1st use Nebbiolo wine barrels as to avoid any cross contamination of gluten from other beers. We aged for 5 weeks, then tested the beer at our local lab prior to bottling and sending samples to the TTB for further analysis...Lets just say it was a lot of work but worth it as we feel we made a delicious beer and its GF!
The porcupine and the snakes- GRuit Ale
BREWER'S NOTES:
A Gruit is a very old beer style brewed in the 10th century prior to when hops were used in beer. It is often brewed with herbs and botanicals that offer both flavor, aroma and at times a very light bitterness. We have brewed this several times using Angelica, Redwood branches in the mash, Rosemary, Lemon Verbina, Wild Mountain Sage, Lavender Flowers and Strawberry Mint. We brewed both with David Arthur Vineyards water (Mountain Well Water from Volcanic Aquifer) and 30% malted wheat with the balance being 2 row Copeland Syskiyou County, CA. The yeast selection was a neutral ale yeast although aromatically it is driven by the Angelica which gives the beer a more Belgian personality. We also have brewed this style with Thyme and Geranium which was inspired by our friends at Restaurant Geranium in Copenhagen. We did a collaboration with them in 2018 and this newer version (2020) is a play off of that beer along with some elements of our base.
The sadyr and the traveler - House Malted Pale Ale
BREWER'S NOTE:
As our local barley has become more abundant we have been malting more and wanting to add both a Lager and an Ale to our beer line up that is 100% house malted. These beers are similar to the Terroir series although tend to be sourced from the surrounding counties like Napa, Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino. Our Oast House or Hop Kiln has given us an abundance of fresh Sonoma Hops to bitter as well as dry hop with for this Pale Ale, while the water is exclusively Lewelling Spring Water as noted on the back label above. Our first release is more red-orange tone in color due to higher finishing kiln temps as well as higher protein. The first bottling will go out to our memberships and look out for another fresh dry hopped version with 2018 hops in the near future.
Terroir Series- Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino Ales
BREWER'S NOTE
Since Mad Fritz’s inception, the idea of a single-origin beer had been nagging at us. We couldn’t get the question out of our minds—a beer from a single origin?! We just had to. And so, after 3 hard years of brewing, growing, sourcing, and malting, we released our Sonoma Ale . At its core, this beer most resembles a pale ale. Because our beers are all barrel-aged, their unique flavors and characteristics are entirely dependent on the beer, the barrel, and our own personal preference! As the name implies, 100% of the ingredients in this Terroir Series are Sonoma County-sourced—down to the water
Our Terroir Series is about growing our Beers very much like wine is grown rather than made. Our Napa Ale is a reflection of place as well as process yet it’s brewed in a classic Pale Ale style show casing both the Oak Knoll District grown 2 row and the Pope Valley grown hops. We are one of the few breweries in the world to be able to grow, malt and brew our beers like this. This series is our ‘Piece de Resistance’ of Mad Fritz and will offer you an new perspective to beer. This pale ale will show best now although will benefit from a few months in the cellar."
Humulus Lupulus -Oast House Ale (Fresh HOP IPA)
BREWER'S NOTE
As it became clear that using our malt kiln to dry locally-grown and sourced hops from farmers all over Sonoma and Napa Counties was a much bigger project than we’d suspected, we were inspired to create this beer, evolving from our Local Origins Farmers Ale. Our intent was to secure as many locally-grown hops as we could—to buy them wet, dry them in our Oast House also know as a Hop Kiln, and then vacuum-pack and freeze them for use throughout the year on our Terroir Series and/or Farmers Ale. The result? An epiphany that brewing for the sake of the hops and the terroir of our growers would be our focus here! These hops grown in slightly different micro-climates and can significantly affect flavor, we decided to begin with 100% Columbus hops on a fairly simple pale ale with some wheat malt (30% of grain bill, Calistoga water and Scarlet 2 Row malt as well as a Belgian yeast). Each bottle is double-stamped—one for the lot code/alc. v/v, and the other for the hop variety and origin). The Oast House Ale Series marks the beginning of another sub-journey that will take us deep into an exploration of hop terroir and perhaps “old-school” varieties that, with a little help, will yield incredible results. Look out for further studies in these Hop Terroir Beers!
the ox and the toad- Alt ale
BREWER'S NOTE
This Alt Ale or Altbier is a classic style from the Cologne region of Germany that finds its roots based off of a Kolsch like ale although more of a Brown Ale or a Common Ale-Steam Beer when contrasted to new world styles. It is typically low in alcohol (5.0-6.0% v/v) and bitterness with light nutty and toffee characters and super clean. We made our in a similar approach to our Kolsch although moved our base malt to Full Pint from Madras Oregon, and St Helena water married with Hallertau hops from Yakima Valley Washington. As with our other beers we age this in mixed cooperage, (French Oak) the resulting beer is crisp clean nutty and smooth.
The lion and other beasts-Grisette Ale
BREWER'S NOTE:
This Belgian Style ale called a Grisette that is somewhat of a lost beer style named for the coal miners wives that would serve this up after the long work day in the mines. It is typically a low alcohol ale at 4 to 5% by volume with low bitterness and aromas of yeast-spice as well as subtle hop notes. The base malt on our approach was Full Pint 2 Row from Madras Oregon, water from St Helena, Amarillo hops from Yakima Valley then aged in French Oak for varying times. Our resulting beer is bright with light fruit tones, yeast spice, dry and clean. Our more recent bottlings have been aged in neutral French oak for 1 to 3 months with varying levels of ABV although typically landing at 5.5%. We sometimes refer to this beer as a mini-Saison or even a Belgian Pale Ale in style.
the crow and the water-Dry stout
BREWER'S NOTE
The Irish Dry Stout has an amazing history of evolution and some of my favorite beer styles have evolved from it over the last century. The idea was always with me to craft a distinct approach to this style and a when a fellow beer enthusiast, Jim Daley, pushed me over the edge...well it wasn't hard! The grain bill is all Full Pint grown in Madras OR and malted on the Estate there, blended with a pinch of Colorado's wheat malt along with roasted barley as well as some black malt to broaden the roast tonalities. After a quick fermentation from 10 plato our goal is to age this beer in freshly emptied Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for a short period (3-4 weeks). This adds a subtle vinous note as well as dropping the pH or increasing the acidity some as some. This beer is a pleasure to consume and like the more commercial representations of the style quite drinkable. We have other versions that have aged longer in barrel (1 month to 3 months) depending on the batch and have continued to play with finishing hops as well. To Hop or Not to Hop!
Local Origin Series-Farmers Ale
BREWER'S NOTE
The idea behind Local Origins was to create a platform on which to brew and craft beers whose 'Origins' can be shifted when needed as many of these ingredients will be very limited and change batch to batch. As our malt house begins to take shape and we will be able to malt our barleys, as well as other local farmers, this label will allow us to express their uniqueness of character/flavor. These bottlings will be more rare and seldom at first although we hope to have more of them with time and of course with our maltings. You will need to refer to the lot code on the bottle and the web site to crib the 'Origins' as well as specific local additions.
Our first bottling was called Plum Project due to the infusion of local Muir Beauty plums sourced from Rancho Chimiles here in Napa. The base malt was Thoroughbred 6 Row from Carrol County, MD with a 40% addition of white wheat from Alamosa CO. and the hops grown locally in Napa at Wise Acre Vineyards on Howell Mountain (Cascade-Fresh Hop) with water from St Helena. After primary in Stainless Steel we racked to a 2nd use Chardonnay barrel for two months of sur lie aging. It continued to ferment off of our resident brewery yeast to a very dry 1.002 SPG and an Alc. by Vol. at 7.4%. Our second release was called Beer Terroir and is one of the first beers we have brewed without the use of any barrel time. The idea behind it is to showcase the expression of our house yeast which has now been genetically finger printed for tracking. This beer is between a Belgian Pale Ale and a Blonde in style with estery yeast, low malt and hop aroma as well as low bitterness (20 IBUs) and Alc. by vol. at 5.7%. We continue to brew using this label for unique ingredients that are locally farmed and house malted as well. Look out for a RauchBier soon as well as other new creations!
the Bear and the bees-Honey Ale
BREWER'S NOTE
Our Honey Ale is a collaboration with Rob Keller of Napa Valley Bee Company and who lives and breaths with the Buzz of the Bees. He had foraged some honey from multiple wild hives from around the Napa Valley and offered us the opportunity to create a beer with it. We chose a clean and light base barley sourced and malted in Madras Oregon with very low color yet a with a distinct malt tonality from the variety Full Pint Barley. We used our relatively soft water from St Helena and Hallertau Hops from Yakima, WA as well as our French Saison yeast to create a beer that was dry and crisp on the finish. The honey was married with the beer at the end of boil with specific timing and technique to retain and boost the impact of its aromatics. After the primary fermentation and settling in stainless we racked to a new French Oak barrel (600 L puncheon M toast -Saury) and aged briefly for settling and light oak aromatics. Its flavor profile is somewhere between a chardonnay, dry mead-Hydromel style and a Belgian Strong Ale its soft spiced with round honey tones and oak notes. A focused and clean palate (TFG 1.000) with very subtle hop bitterness. We have also crafted this Honey Ale using Vince Tofinelli's Honey from Calistoga where he grows organic wine grapes that are dry farmed as well. He is veteran of this valley as a 4th generation farmer and we are excited to show case this beautiful honey with our beer. We continue to brew this Mead like beer every year and when we can barter with Rob and his amazing local honey!
the boy who cried wolf-Biere de Garde Ale
BREWER'S NOTE
This ale is our first of our beers to be brewed using the malts from Valley Malt in Hadley, Massachusetts where Andrea and her husband Christian grow and source their barley in New York State. We were really excited to begin brewing with their malt. We brewed this beer with the variety Wintmalt and as we got a little more color from it we gave it a new label. The first rendition Batch 91 was brewed with Glacier hops on the bitter side, fermented using a French saison yeast then aged in a Chardonnay Puncheon (450 L) for 2.5 months. It settled beautifully and was then racked for bottling where we introduced a small amount of Brettanomyces for some subtle funk tones for the bottle bouquet as well as the natural carbonation. Aromatically its has a light caramel nose that is layered with earthy-malt tones, spice from both the saison yeast as well as the Brett followed by hints of chardonnay notes from the wine barrel. A lively palate is focused on a mid-palate carmel/malt sweetness, chardonnay oak notes and hints of bitterness on the dry almost slightly tart finish (not soured). A wine like terminal gravity at 1.000-2 and clocks in at an ABV of 7.0% by volume. Our second addition was allocated to our memberships, Lot 117, and spent 2 months in barrels building a strong secondary fermentation of Brett Brux prior to going to bottle.
The Birds and the beasts-Barley wine Ale
BREWER'S NOTE
Our version of the wine of beers and fable, The Birds and the Beast, is a great analogy to what it actually is beer or wine! Its clearly beer as its made from 100% Full Pint barley Estate Grown and Malted in Madras Oregon by Mecca Malt and Seth Klann's' Team. Our goal from the out set is to achieve about 21.5 to 22.5 Plato or percent sugar without boiling for an extended time thus we use double the malt needed for most our other beers by doing a double mash and sparging very little. The malt is paired with our local Centennial Hop from Clear Lake to balance the high gravity. We use a low impact yeast for maximum malt/hop expression without a lot of yeast driven character and ferment really dry which we prefer over the sweeter examples out there with higher final gravities... leaving the style guidelines to rest we took a more wine focused approach. We aged all of our Barley Wines in Hungarian Oak with lots 83, 86 and 88 in New Barrels. As far as age worthiness this beer (or wine) clocks in at 9.5 to 11% Alcohol by Volume and should show well in to its years. Our most recent release went to our memberships and was aged for 8 months in the 2nd use Hungarian barrels used for the latter lots listed above. We blended Goethe and Nietzsche barrels at bottling (Lot Code: 161101101). If you are lucky enough to try this one its really where we want to be! The Freud barrel is still aging so we will release that when its mentally stable....
the Peacock and Jupiter-white Ale
BREWER'S NOTE:
This White Ale or a Belgian Wit-bier was created from an earlier rendition that we had worked on with our even smaller pilot system. We called it Whit's Wit after my wife, Whitney, for obvious reasons! We brew the base with Scarlet variety barley from Alamosa CO and 33% White Wheat, then with a light bittering hand of hops and aroma infuse Cardamom, Coriander, Lemon Grass and Mandarin rinds at the end of the kettle. We used an new selection of yeast for primary in stainless then racked to neutral white wine barrels for one month of aging. We usually see another pick up in fermentation from a house yeast, then rack to bottling and natural fermentation in the bottle/keg for carbonation. This beer is a foamy delight in the summer or winter its 5.6 to 6.5% Alc. by Vol is hidden by explosive spice characters that almost seem like a citrus soda in the palate, clean and crisp.
THe goose that laid the golden eggs- Saison Ale
BREWER'S NOTE:
Our Saison style ale is our first true 'Brett beer' short for Brettanomyces which is yeast genus know to produce wild earthy like aromatics. We added Brettanomyces cultures to our Golden Ale base after the primary fermentation with a Belgian yeast strain while in a Puncheon Barrel (500 L). After about 3 to 8 months of aging the beer develops a new personality. We then package a small amount of this aged beer and then top up the barrel using another Puncheon of the base beer, un-Bretted, this Puncheon is then retopped with another fresh batch of the Golden Ale, thus creating a SOLERA style of aging and a Goose that will lay Golden Beer! Our base Golden Ale is made with a variety of base malts primarily Copeland from Fallon NV and then Thoroughbred 6 Row from Chester County PA among others so we have designated it 'Mixed Craft Malts'. One finds that this beers aromatics are driven by the Brett rather than the source malts nuance thus a variety designation doesn't apply. This beer is complex, vinous and mysteriously delicious although I have to say many of our wine focused friends are timid to its nature. Our first release was a Members only release, Batch 28 (100%copeland). We have another, Batch 50 , thats average age is 6 months in our Solera Puncheons(Copeland and Throughbred varieties). Batch 51 bottling and is roughly 9.1% Alc. by Vol and is 100% or so of Thoroughbred 6 Row. The over all aging was nearly 11 months in the Solera so its got a lot of Soul-Era. Our most recent bottling is Batch 96 is a blend of thoroughbred 6 row , scarlet 2 row and genie 2 row has an average barrel time of 16 months the alcohol is 9.6% by v/v and has a slightly higher bitterness then previous rackings from the solera.
THE dog and the Clog- Extra Special Bitter Ale
BREWER'S NOTE:
Our ESB is another beer crafted with Full Pint that is Estate grown and malted in Madras Oregon. This barley tends to have a lot of malt intensity that works well with this style of beer: a malt forward, mild bitterness and very smooth. This beer has been brewed multiple times with small tweaks in the water sources and elevage or aging side. The use of used chardonnay barrels seems to bring out more spice aromas while we have another that was aged in brand new french oak barrel (tight grain Allier M+ toast) that offers a layering of malt and barrel toast that seems to marry the flavors together nicely. The Golding hops seem to take a back seat on this beer aromatically although there is a nice bitter snap to the finish to what maybe thought of as a Strong Ale over an ESB in regards to style.
THE peacock and the crane-kolsch Style Ale
BREWER'S NOTE:
Our Kolsch style Ale is not exactly what one might think of as a Kolsch. Its clearly far from home and a far cry from its defined character attributes yet we opted to play house and add some winemakers spin to it. The base malt is Scarlet from Alamosa CO and offers a clean malt spectrum that allows our yeast to push the style, while St Helena water or often David Arthur Vineyards well water and Hallertau hops add subtlety to favor profile, fermented cool (60F) in stainless steel and then aged in neutral French Oak for 1-2 months prior to bottle conditioning. Its clearly our own mad minds that have created this beautiful and delicately balanced beer as its more of a Kellerbier Ale, or unfiltered Kolsch.
THE Lion and the Mouse-Abbey Ale
BREWER'S NOTE:
The Lion and the Mouse is inspired by the Belgian Abbey Dubbel brewed using a less traditional approach, like all of our beers it is driven by the raw materials and where they come from. This beer combines two core ingredients that come from two families: one in the Napa Valley, California Lewelling Vineyards-Spring Water andthe other Madras, Oregon Mecca Malt-Full Pint Estate grown malt. These two farming families have relations dating back to the Oregon Trail. We paired these up with a very light dose of Gargoyle Hops from Clear lake and after fermentation aged in a neutral French Oak wine barrel. This beer is warm and inviting with a bold nose of spicy nose with hints of dried fruit, caramel-toffee tones followed by rich textured yet dry finish.
THE FOX AND THE STORK- WEIZENBOCK ALE
BREWER'S NOTE:
Our weizenbock was brewed using an heirloom variety of wheat called Sonora grown here in St Helena by the CIA farm to table program. We chose to use it un-malted at 25% of the grain bill and blended in our Copeland Variety 2 row malted barley, then used a local well water with high mineral content. We fermented using a classic Bavarian Wheat yeast strain to illuminated the style, then aged in a 2nd use chardonnay barrel for about two weeks. The result is bright with fruit, spice and wheat on the nose offering a crisp and dry finish (1.004).
In 2018 we transitioned this label to be more to style (South German Weizenbock) with 50% of the grain bill being malted white wheat, thus it is 100% Alamosa, CO origin for the malt. The limited amount of Sonoran wheat grown in St Helena finally came to an end and made it clear that we needed to change sourcing as well as up the percentage.
The Fox and the Leopard - Doppelbock - Lager
BREWER'S NOTE:
Our Doppelbock Lager is brewed using base malts (Full Pint 2 Row) sourced from Madras ,OR and crafted malted by 3rd generation barley farmers (in the past we brewed with another long time farmer family at Colorado Malting Co). Its base water comes from the Fisher Vineyards well in Calistoga where its mild in minerality yet not completely soft. We push up the malt character as well using a Munich style malt and keep the Glacier hops in check. After fermentation in stainless steel was aged in freshly emptied Cabernet Sauvignon barrels for 2.5 months or most often neutral French Oak. It show both a malty back bone with subtle vinous notes as well as a clean fairly dry finish. This beer will be good today as well as with another 3 to 6 months of cellar age past the bottling lot code date (see top description on enjoying mad fritz). It usually clocks in at 7.8 to 8.3% ABV.
The Fox and the Grapes - Ale brewed with Petite Sirah Grape Must
BREWER'S NOTE:
It was the middle of the 2014 harvest and we were steadily harvesting through our vineyard blocks when the old thought of a fusion beer Wine + Beer = Wier, or so I thought! Petite Sirah, a juicy dark red wine grape with low acid, lots of color and a solid tannin profile seemed to be the right fit. We made two batches one with some variations and aged both in a combination of French Chestnut wood and a older Cabernet Sauvignon wine barrel. After 7-8 months of aging we had a very dry beer (mostly due to the wild cultures of yeast and natural wine bacteria). We did some light blending and the result is...well.. 'Wier'... The bright fruit aromas and flavors from the grapes are almost Rose' to Red wine like yet the core of it is a beer rich smooth beer with light bitterness then dry crisp and carbonated with subtle chestnut and oak spice. This beer style and approach continues to evolve and each year we push the amount of Petite Sirah we can get into the beer!
THE FOOL AND THE CART - INDIA PALE ALE
BREWER'S NOTE
IPA is one of our favorite styles and we all love hops. As we worked on our recipes over the years we have made some good ones although we knew we wanted something different. A beer with a hop profile that is more classic and piney than fruited with the Tropics! The was the first beer we ever brewed in 2014 and has been evolving as our sourcing has changed. Thats part of the fun and challenge of listing the sources and working with local farmers. After nearly 8 years with landrace hop varieties we have shifted to a CA grown IPA with Columbia and Cashmere hops grown in Sonoma County. After primary fermenation this beer is typically aged for 1 to 3 months in neutral French Oak. We tend to dry hop it but don’t always do it. This style of IPA is more old world with spice tones dominating rather than the fruitier styles more commonly found.
THE LARKS IN THE CORN - BLUE CORN PALE ALE
BREWER'S NOTE
The idea behind this beer is to single hop with our locally grown Cascade and have a grain bill with approximately 30% micro malted blue corn (milled at our local Bale Grist Mill-est.1846). To craft a refreshing style while showcasing some of the color and flavor you get from the blue corn. The barrel age program is limited with another hop addition prior to racking for bottling. The result is a crowd-pleaser that parallels many milder IPAs yet offers aromatic beauty of one of the greatest hops currently cultivated. Our original maltster, Rebel Malting Co, used to supply us a good supply of malted blue corn from New Mexico but in 2017 this sourcing ran out. We acquired Rebels' Gen 2 malting kiln and began malting it ourselves beginning with our first batch in 2018. The flavors of this beer are incredibly unique due to the layering of malted corn, cascade hops and yeast esters offering lots of stone fruit. The color tends to be dictated by the blue corn and has a light red-blue hue to it.
THE WIND AND SUN - GOLDEN ALE
BREWER'S NOTE
Our rendition of a Belgian Strong Ale with Saison styling offers the spicy notes derived from the yeast without late hop additions. We use a straight 2 row Rebel Micro Malted Copeland variety for the grain bill. This beer is fermented in stainless steel and is aged in 3rd use French oak Chardonnay barrels for about 1 to 2 months which gives the beer a subtle vinous character and oak tones. Our Golden will age beautifully for months and potentially years to come due to its low terminal gravity that also makes it crisp, lean and deceivingly potent.
THE VIPER AND FILE - Belgian STYLE BROWN ALE
BREWER'S NOTE
Our Belgian Brown Ale with a unique twist. This base comes from a more classic American brown ale using Copeland 2 Row from Fallon, NV (will shift to Thoroughbred 6 row from Carrol County, MD in 2016) some crystal and roasted malts then utilizing a Belgian Yeast and a New French Chestnut barrel for aging. The approach was to balance the toast/roast of the barrel with the roasted malts in the grain bill while protecting the aromatics of the yeast, no easy task. After utilizing some wine making techniques and careful handling, the result is a beautiful beer that combines in harmony both New and Old World styles. We finally have a good source of more French Chestnut so you will be seeing this beer more frequently if you come to visit or are a Member.
the old man and Death - Imperial Rye Stout
BREWER'S NOTE
Appropriately, The Old Man and Death fable, is a darkly brewed beer. This Imperial Stout recipe pulls from our experience with past stouts with an added twist of rye that makes up about 14% of the grain bill was grown in Fallon, Nevada and micro malted at Rebel. The base malt is a 2 row barley called ‘Full Pint’ that was bred at Oregon State University by Pat Hayes, grown in Brownsville, Oregon by Scott Sayer and then micro-malted in Colorado…a long strange trip. It has slightly more nutty/biscuit flavor and works well with the spicy notes from the rye and the roasted malts. We racked this beer into a French oak wine barrel for aging. This beer has it all from layered aroma profile to a fully textured palate even with a low terminal gravity of 2 Plato (1.008 SPG) and 8.1 to 8.4% v/v Alcohol
The old deer and fawn - Winter Spice Ale
BREWER'S NOTE
For our first spiced beer in the brew house we joined forces with the Laffort team to create a winter strong ale using one of their select beer yeasts. We styled it with darker crystal malts and some espresso malt from the Colorado Malting Co while our base malt is Full Pint from Oregon. The hop profile is all back palate or bittering with the use of Ivanhoe then pushing the spice rack to the aroma which included Juniper Berries on the final 5 minutes followed by other additions you will have to guess at. We fermented cooler at 58 to 62 F for about 4 weeks and racked it to French Oak used for Cabernet Sauvignon although we limited the barrel time mainly for expression of spice and to assist in settling. Our final numbers hit about 35 IBUS with 7.6% Alc v/v and a pH of 4.5. This beer has a big rich palate with lots of spice on the nose and hints at a more robust brown ale in style. There will be limited amounts of this available as it is a single wine barrel batch so reach out to us directly to get a bottle.
the kite, frog and mouse - Rye Ale
BREWER'S NOTE
This strong ale of sorts was the first to be crafted using a local well in Calistoga. An area known for minerality and beneficial health properties we thought it wouldn’t hurt us to make a little beer with it. This ale’s core malt is the Full Pint barley grown in Brownsville, OR while the Rye Malt was grown in Fallon, NV at 26% of the total grain bill. The generous spice and lift that Rye malt brings an aroma that is completely seductive as well as the synergy with the Ivanhoe heirloom hop this beer seems to get better and better with age. It clocks in with about 65 IBUs, 8.1 -8.6% Alc v/v and a pH of 4.7. Its terminal gravity of 1.004 adds to a crisp savory finish. Our lot code 15053041 was aged in Bourbon barrels for about two weeks and is unmistakeably intense. We partnered up with The Bounty Hunter andtheir great source of Bourbon to make this happenThis batch will be available for a very short time although its possible a few bottles may leave the brewery and could end up in your glass.
THE DONKEY AND THISTLE-PALE LAGER
BREWER'S NOTE
One of our favorite styles of beer is the Pilsner Style. The subtle sulfides and nuanced malt characters framed by a balance hop profile seems to awaken the senses. We crafted our pale lager after a more Bohemian Style while pushing the Original Gravity to fall more in a MaiBock/Helles style without filtration it would be a Kellerbier ..Somehow many of our beers never seem to quite fit a mold in the style guidelines thus their personality shows as well as the barrel aging in French Oak-Chardonnay for 1 to 2 months. We produced several batches of this beer utilizing several different lager yeast strains fermented at 50 F, aged at 58 F and thus final alcohols very from 6.6% to 7.6% v/v depending on the lot. The barley is 100% craft Malted Scarlet from Alamosa Colorado at 7500 feet elevation, while the hops are Organic Glacier and grown locally in Clear Lake, California. in 2018 we migrated to Crystal Hops which offers a more savory side without the snappiness of the Glacier hops. We continue to evolve with beer with softer spring water (Howelll Mtn/Angwin) as well as a Napa Valley grown barley that is house malted at Mad Fritz (look for the stamp on the front label).
THE RINGDOVE AND THE HUNTER-PORTER
BREWER'S NOTE
The Ring Dove and the Hunter is a beer I have been brewing for decades, once called 'Peoples Porter' , it has always been a Robust Style Porter and it has inevitably changed throughout the years (20+). This rendition is framed by the malty-rich and biscuity Full Pint malted barley, Black Patent malt, a pinch of Coffee malt and hints of Caramel 100-120. We hopped with US grown Goldings hops from Yakima Valley in WA, which were hit hard during set and yields were very low so we were lucky to get our hands on some. We aged the beer in a red and white wine barrel for three weeks prior to bottling. A spicy herbal nose balanced with subtle roasted malts and a mild bitterness brings this beer alive and should age gracefully in your cellar at 6.8. to 7.3% Alc v/v.
THE EAGLES NEST-DOUBLE INDIA PALE ALE
BREWER'S NOTE
The Eagle's Nest fable is just bad ass and the artwork by Barlow does it justice thus we needed to craft a beer that could be held to same level of morality! West coast IPA is the style framed with Colorado's Scarlet Malted Barley and a pinch of Belgian Special B to color it, a long bittering hop time 110 minutes with Amarillo and Citra (Version A) then more and more and more on the finish. We introduced Version B (Chinook, Glacier and Magnum) in the fall of 2015 to offer a different expression of hops. We opted not to dry hop as we feel there is adequate punch from the whirlpool/knock-out steep. After a warm fermentation we racked to a 3rd use Chardonnay barrel for aging for two to three weeks only. This highly aromatic beer is bright with hops as well as subtle barrel tones and a rich yet dry texture terminating at 1.006 to 1.008 and alcohol at 8.4 to 8.8 % v/v and 85 IBUs.