We’re honored to announce our Raspberry sour ale was awarded Gold in the American-Style Sour Ale category at the World Beer Cup in Nashville, TN on May 3, 2018, wrapping up the Craft Brewers Conference at Music City Center. The World Beer Cup, developed by the Brewers Association in 1996, is the most prestigious bi-annual beer competition in the world. With 8,234 beers, 2,515 breweries, 101 style categories, 66 countries, and 295 judges, the competition is strong.
Raspberries were one of the first whole fruits we began experimenting with and part of our first sours release over a decade ago. The base blonde ale, Basis, is aged for 6-8 months in large oak barrels, foudres. During fermentation, yeast, Brettanomyces and other souring microorganisms create a tart, dry and refreshing sour ale. Selected barrels are transferred and aged on 375 lbs of Raspberries for an additional 3 months. For this latest batch, there are around 3 lbs of raspberries per gallon of beer. The result is fresh raspberry aromas melding with floral wine-like notes that create a wonderful, rich raspberry flavor accompanied by refreshing tartness.
“To have Raspberry recognized, a beer we’ve been crafting since 2006, feels absolutely incredible. I couldn’t be more proud of our brewing team for relentlessly working to improve our processes and create truly remarkable beer. We’re humbled to receive such a prestigious award for years of refining our craft and ultimately, for doing something we love to do,” said Pete Batule, Head of Brewing Operations.
Experimentation with sour ales began in 2006 when we traded a few cases of beer for some oak barrels from Oliver Winery. The sour program has continued to grow thanks to our Secret Barrel Society, a group of loyal fans, and our constant pursuit of innovative flavor and ingredient combinations. We opened the Wood Shop in 2016, a brewery solely dedicated to crafting wood-aged sours.
We’re not the only Indiana brewery to walk away with a World Beer Cup award! Metazoa Brewing Company, The Tap (Bloomington), Bier Brewery, and Blind Owl Brewery also brought home distinguished recognition for their beers.
Thank you to everyone who celebrated with a special tapping of Raspberry with us at the Wood Shop on May 5! Remaining bottles will be reserved for special events and tastings. Our 20th Anniversary has been off to a great start and we look forward to celebrating more great beers in 2018!