The base beer was originally brewed in 2013 as a Belgian Blonde Ale. We then aged the beer in a freshly emptied 65 Gallon Chardonnay barrel for 1 year. We inoculated the barrel with some bugs from Wyeast and some dregs from some of our favorite Russian River sour beers. In 2016 (3 years after entering the barrel) we bottled up just the base beer without any fruit. 7 years later I decided to see how this is developing in the bottle.

You can find the recipe for the base beer here.

Appearance

The beer pours crystal clear with a light orange hue. It produces an inch of fizzy white head that quickly dissipates. There is plenty of visible carbonation bubbles racing to the top of the glass.

Aroma

The aroma has some fruity notes and some butteriness (not movie theater popcorn, but Chardonnay buttery). There are subtle notes of vanilla and oak.

Taste/Mouthfeel

This beer is very effervescent. The bubbles roll across the tongue as you take a sip. It’s light in body and finishes dry. It’s pretty fruity with notes of lemon and pear along with a medium amount of acidity. Notes of the oak show up in the finish.

Impressions

I’m pretty impressed with the amount of flavor on this beer despite not having any fruit in it. It’s holding up extremely well and has proven to be an excellent base beer for an American Wild Ale.