The base beer for the Grand Teton American Sour project is a unique pale wheat ale soured with Lactobacillus and fermented with our house Hefeweizen yeast, which provides fruity (green apple, banana) and spicy (clove, black pepper) flavors. It was conditioned in four oak barrels that have housed Brettanomyces bruxellensis for several years.
The move to barrels allowed development of the wonderful and unique characteristics Brettanomyces bruxellensis offers. Once we were happy with how the beer developed, we blended it with fresh Snarling Badger, our Imperial Berliner Weisse, refilled the original four barrels and an additional 11 barrels and then allowed all 15 barrels to age and develop. Some of the 11 barrels had previously held red wine and have only been used once before this to age beer. These barrels have added flavors found in wine and allowed the oak tannins and dark fruit sweetness to balance with the sourness of the beer.
This beer will age well for years, as it will continue to develop unique flavors from the various yeasts and bacteria with which we chose to ferment this beer. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do.