Hey all - just wanted post about a new seasonal beer that CBC has on draft, called "Om." It is a barrel-aged strong ale with some bretty-deliciousness. I had it this past weekend and urge all of you to make the trip over to CBC (I am in no way affiliated with CBC). It was absolutely incredible. Just wanted to pass it along!
I had one a couple of weeks ago. I didn't think it was very remarkable, but not everyone is going to enjoy every beer the same. Good lord do I love Blunderbuss though.
I'll admit I didn't do much research on it, and this was only my second time to CBC. Regardless, I found it to be quite delicious!
Entirely possible - they could have let it sit a while longer before tapping this year. It's definitely a beer I'd like to try at different ages...
Hi Guys, just thought I'd chime in on the Om. It is a beer we've brewed on several previous occasions, though it had been awhile since we'd put it on tap. The first ever batch was a blend of 2 barrels which were clean and 2 barrels which picked up a naturally occurring Brett infection in the Barrel Cellar. All the barrels were very pleasant and we decided to blend them all together to serve. The second batch underwent primary fermentation in stainless, then was sent into the same set of barrels so it also went Bretty. What I liked best about the spontaneous infection in these beers was that the Brett character was incredibly fruity and floral - think passionfruit and pineapple with hints of guava and a dry champagne-like finish. Unfortunately, we took too long after putting Batch 2 on tap before we got around to planning Batch 3, and the barrels had picked up some mold from being left empty too long, despite being well-purged w/CO2. We had to chuck 'em. Fast forward a couple years, and we decided to try again, but we wanted Brett in the beer guaranteed. I contacted my friend Chad Y. at Crooked Stave in CO, and he shared 2 different Brett strains with me - 1 was B. bruxelensis derived from Drei Fonteinen and the other was B. custercianus, which we'd never used before. At about 3 months in the wood the barrels were singing with awesome tropical fruit notes, but it was another 3 months before we had tank space to serve the beer. In that time it picked up a much more significant earthy Brett character - more of what I consider to be typical B.lambicus notes of barnyard and funk. Still delicious in our opinion, but a little different from the first two batches. The Om is gone for now as it kicked recently, but we will be releasing another Brett beer at the end of this week. It's the second iteration of our Brett Grisette, which has been undergoing secondary fermentation and aging in a set of pretty neutral Tawny Port barrels (previously used to age our 2011 Blunderbuss for 1 year). Following the Grisette I hope to get our next expression of Kriek du Cambridge on tap. At this point with over 60 barrels in and out of the cellar on a regular basis, it's our intention to try and keep at least one beer from the wood on tap at all times, and preferably one "clean" and one "funky" beer whenever possible. Speaking of "clean" barrel-aged beer, in a couple weeks for our 23rd Anniversary party (May 12th!) we'll release Ozymandias, as very strong black beer with currants and elderberries aged in red wine and bourbon casks. It'll be nuts. Hope to see y'all soon. Cheers, Will
Thanks, Will. It's always interesting to hear what's happening with the beer behind the scenes... and from the horse's mouth
If it's anything like the first iteration, it's fantastic. It's also awesome to hear about the goal of having a funky beer available at all times!
