In 2024 we released two beers blending red grapes with red fruit, Coming-to-Be and Ceasing-to-Be.

True-Nature, a multi-vintage '22/'23 blend, continues that conceptual series of experiments outside of classic orchard fruit in combining 2022 Kerner grapes (a white varietal descended from Riesling) with 2023 harvest red raspberries and balaton cherries. Blending raspberries and cherries is pretty time-honored, as these are two of the most classic types of fruit used in Belgian lambic. I first did this professionally prior to Floodland and we've tinkered with it a bit here, although I think this beer eclipses anything I've done before. It is both a pleasing beer and one that is profoundly complex.

On the nose this reads as a straight up rosé pet nat, bringing to mind maybe Jura Trousseau or some of the L'Anglore rhone blends. As you dive in you quickly see that it's too low acid and low abv to be wine. The balaton are candy-ish with a little cinnamon, the raspberries are a robust wave of fruit punch, but in this context they don't get cloying probably in part due to the white grape backbone providing the body and complexity the way that it does in Seekers and Constellatory. The grapes are textural, and they bring some black tea and lemon aromatics and flavor, while allowing the cherries and berries to shine.

In this blend we've used the cherries and raspberries at lighter rates, they both tend to have a very heavy impact. I was hesitant about overdoing it and I'm glad I had a light touch as they are plenty apparent but balanced. For the blend I used some barrels of low gravity saison and managed to keep the ABV super light for a beer with grapes and other fruit. The color is pretty deep pink and the beer has a ton of weight and depth for being 6%. Like Nothing Ever Begins this one really punches above its weight.

I haven't had a lot of bottles of this yet, but we had it tonight with some roasted radicchio from Chandler at Hayshaker Farm in Walla Walla (with romesco, extra walnuts, and shaved parm) and some ripping good pizza from Sunny Hill. The beer cut the radicchio's bitterness as well as the fat of the cheese on the pizza very nicely, I think it'll pair well with a variety of meals.

Bottling date: 06/12/2025
Cellar: Best before summer 2027.