La Brumaire is our scotch ale matured 4 months in barrels of Bourbon. If you read these lines, you are probably interested in the Brasserie Générale and this delicious beer.
When we made the second brew last fall, we had to change the barrels of Bourbon that we usually used. We bought barrels that were used to age a special Bourbon called “Double Oak” at Woodford Reserve.
It was during the final assembly that we realized that the beer in barrels was very different from what we expected. We make the decision to change the name of the beer and its label to a special edition “Double Oak”. At this time, we notice especially the tannins which are much more powerful, a nose of red berries and a thinness in the body of the beer. The latter being different yes, but especially very interesting, we put it on the shelves.
It was a few weeks later, when we received our laboratory analyzes, that we realized the presence of Brettanomyces yeasts in beer. These so-called “wild” yeasts make it evolve in a very different way than the yeast usually used. Since nothing seems to affect this “Double Oak” negatively, we leave it on the market.
Today, after several months in bottles, we are witnessing the slow and exciting transformation of this beer. In addition to the aromas of red fruits, a slight acidity has developed and we feel a texture in the mouth that is close to the wine. If we could remotely change the labels of the “Double Oak”, we would rather write scotch ale refined in Bourbon barrels with yeasts Brettanomyces …
All this to come where? We note that this special edition has caused confusion for our customers. People who are not introduced to wild yeast beers have been disappointed not to find the sweet side of Scotch whiskey. That’s why we brought back to our brewery all the remaining crates of the “Double Oak” and replaced it with the original version of the Brumaire.
So good news for lovers of scotch ale in barrels of Bourbon, the Brumaire is back! Another very good news for mature beer lovers with wild yeasts, we have some crates of this adventure at the brewery!