6th Birthday Beers: Barrel-Aged Winter Berry Sours
Barrel-Aged Winter Berry Sours 2019
Last year for our 5th birthday we released Winter Berry Sour to commemorate a poignant year of Taproom renovation, settling into our bigger production site, growing as a team and continuing to execute our Sour Series we are being increasingly well known for. This Winter Berry Sour was an extra special release; a Flanders-red style with additions of dark fruits; sour cherries, elderberries, blackcurrants and blackberries post-fermentation with oak and cherry wood to create a vinous and complex blend of rich berry fruit, sweet vanilla and caramel malt notes. Thinking ahead to our 6th birthday we also put a portion of this beer into 2 barrels: Moscatel and Pinot Noir. The beers had a 12 month long kip and when they were tasting amazing, bottled them into 375ml bottles. They’re now ready for release just in time to celebrate our 6th birthday this weekend.
Moscatel Barrel-Aged Winter Berry Sour. A type of fortified wine made from Muscat grapes in Spain and Portugal, Moscatel wine is characterised by its light floral aromas with undertones of floral orange blossom, jasmine with a sweet honeyed and raisin palate. 12 months in the Moscatel barrel has imparted a subtle honey and floral sweetness to the Winter Berry Sour, finishing on a soft, vanilla richness.
Pinot Noir Barrel-Aged Winter Berry Sour. A red wine grape variety and the classic grape of Burgundy, Pinot Noir is well known for its heady aroma of red fruits and berries, French oak and pepper spice. 12 months in the Pinot Noir barrel has added further complexity with soft red berry tannins, rich oak spice and a vibrant acidity.
The stunning label designs were a collaboration between Peckham-based artist Katrina Russell-Adams and Elves Design Studio. Katrina is known for creating bold and bright abstract art, murals, textiles and installations. Katrina applied her style to this design through being inspired from various buildings and structures around Peckham, adding a provincial element to these special beers. Taking a screen-printing course 5 years ago kick started Katrina’s art and since then the hobby has grown into a career, boosting her confidence and creativity, brightening up any space her stunning work is found. Camberwell-based designer Tom Kellet runs design company Elves Design Studio which specialises in graphic design, furniture and set design. Tom helped bring Katrina’s label design to reality by transforming it into the graphic.
The design was originally created for last year’s 2018 Winter Berry Sour label, but the colour palette of these 2 new labels have been updated to represent the deep and rich ingredients and barrel-aging identities of each beer whilst retaining the link between 2018’s release and this year’s. We’ve also packaged it into a special 2-pack box making it the perfect gift for your beer-loving partner, friend or family member this festive season.
Get your hands on these as we launch them at the London Christmas Beer Festival at Canopy Market, King’s Cross from this Friday and our 6th Birthday Party this Saturday 7th December. We are holding 2 free tutored tasting of both beers at our birthday party this Saturday 7th December at 3pm and 5pm too! Both sessions are sold out for guaranteed seats, but drop in and we will try to accommodate as many people as possible! Join Pete and Ian as we taste both beers and pick their brains with any beery questions.
