As the warming temperatures in Minnesota thaw us from a brutal winter, we know the season for refreshing lake swims, long bike rides, and wild sour beer is near. Since starting our mixed fermentation Saison program back in 2018, this style of brewing continues to hold its place as one of the most important beer projects we’ve worked on as a brewery. Chance, terroir, time, and unconditional patience drive this style of brewing, contrary to all of the modern techniques that control the rest of our beers. Once you’ve grabbed microbes from a blooming flower and watched it radically change wort into something packed with acidity and yeast character, your perspective on what beer can be is altered. Notes of Meyer lemon, juicy peaches, wine, and some unique funk character are typical in our wild fermentations.
Wild flowers and berries fermenting and preparing to be scaled up at the brewery.
Wild fermentation pellicle forming on top of the beer. Pellicles allow this style of beer to pull needed oxygen into the fermentation process as needed.
Barrels housing wild beer in various stages at the brewery.
Since those early days we’ve continued to deliver beers like Effleur, our lavender and honey Saison; Tip Du Spont, a blue spruce tipped Saisons; and coming this Spring, our first all organic strawberry wild sour.
Two summers ago we were lucky enough to meet and develop a relationship with an organic fruit and vegetable farmer in Cold Spring, Minnesota. On our first visit to Produce Acres, we found rows and rows of perfectly ripe organic strawberries, raspberries, and Aronia berries we knew would be perfect for upcoming beer projects. On this particular trip, we spent hours hand-picking juicy strawberries that made their way directly into beer upon our return to the brewery. The base beer, an all-organic wild Saison brewed with mixed house cultures, sat in white wine barrels for nearly a year. The fresh strawberries were added to the base beer where it sat blending for another six months. To balance the strong notes of fruit, we blended in a small dose of Rishi’s Strawberry Shiso tea adding herbal complexity.
This was finally kegged and bottled in March, where it will naturally carbonate for up to six weeks. Expect to see this beer in bottles and on draft throughout the summer in our taproom.
Jeff Vondenkamp
Owner, Head of Product