Following in the footsteps of Hold the Pancakes is the latest release in our First Fridays Collection: Lickable Wallpaper, a tart, tangy ale aged on Washington boysenberries. Beginning as a mixed fermentation sour saison, this beer was fermented in Chardonnay casks for more than a year before luxuriating on fresh fruit for four months. Look for this limited release to start hitting shelves on Monday, August 12th.

Ryan McNeive, lead brewer of our barrel-aging program, tells us more about the 18-month process to create Lickable Wallpaper.

What’s the story behind this beer?

We were inspired by Cantillon and Drie Fonteinen to make our own interpretation of a fruited mixed culture beer. The result was a wild ale that is layered in wood tannin, malt and brettanomyces flavors, particularly if you enjoy it at a warmer temperature like wine.

Tell me about the barrel-aging process.

The Chardonnay French oak barrels were sourced specifically for this project from a world-class winery in Napa Valley. After brewing a mixed fermentation sour saison, we let it age within the newly emptied barrels for 14 months. After that, we moved the beer into the foeder to age on the fruit for another 4 months, and then it spent another few months in packaging to achieve 100 percent bottle conditioning.

What was it like working with boysenberries?

The berries came from Washington as whole fruit, so we had to do a slight crush before moving them into the foeder. The mix was about 3 pounds of boysenberries per barrel of beer. Our actual fruiting process is hours of manual labor getting the berries into the foeder, which strains them out after 2-4 months when we have to remove the berries by hand.

Anything else worth sharing?

Pair this beer with chocolate-forward desserts. And share it with a friend.

Flavor Profile:

Aroma – Intense, juicy berries, subtle oak, lemony acidity

Malt – Soft, subtle sweetness

Hops – Aged saaz

Balance – Boysenberries, acidity

Body – Light to medium

Characteristics:

Alcohol by Volume - 8.1%

IBUs - 4

Color - 45 EBC