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“the day dreams of marketing men.” That is not to say they aren’t without their place, though. One
of my favorite dessert pairings is a peanut butter cheesecake with the raspberry-drenched Lindemans
Framboise.
Craft beer has embraced the wild beers of Belgium and has begun to replicate these styles in a
unique manner, combining traditional methods with nontraditional fruits and flavors. Of these sour
beer brewers, one of the greatest examples is in our own backyard. Barrelworks is the elite arm of
Firestone Walker Brewing Co. This section of the company is run out of a separate facility in Buellton.
They do not brew on site; the base beer comes from the Paso Robles brewery and is then sent to this
impressive sanctuary housing hundreds of barrels.
Firestone Walker’s proximity to the Central Coast wineries means that they have ready access to wine
barrels and grapes. This is best represented by their beer/wine concoction, Feral Vinifera. This blended
brew consists of a base wheat beer that was added separately to three different grapes – Sauvignon Blanc
(35 percent), Chenin Blanc (35 percent), and Orange Muscat (five percent) – and then fermented in
tandem on French oak. The remainder of the blend (25 percent) comes from finished Bretta Weisse,
their take on Berliner Weisse, a sour German wheat beer style. Its feral side comes out in an aggressive
collection of green olive, gooseberries, and apple-cider vinegar flavors. Despite how fierce some of
their beers get, Barrelworks’s house style has an eye for balance. The sharper notes of Feral Vinifera
are counteracted by a residual sweetness of honeydew melons and tropical elements.
THE WILD UNKNOWN
T
he time and skill required to produce the range of lambic styles results in bottles that
barely exist on shelves. The beer is gone as soon as it is released from the brewery. Krieky
Bones was produced for co-owner David Walker’s 50th birthday, and almost the entire stock
of 140 cases was sold during its release party. Krieky Bones juxtaposes the cherry-ridden
Kriek style with the sweet-sour Flanders red ale, another genre of wild beer closely related
to lambic. The beer pours a pale pink color and contains a woodsy, cinnamon undertone to
the flavors of tart cherries, oak, and fruit pits. Its smooth, soft flavors resonate with a deep
complexity that embodies Barrelworks’s elegant house style.
The beers mentioned here represent only a glimpse into the diverse set of
flavors that beer has to offer. The styles are always evolving, and the brewer is always
experimenting, leading to an ever-expanding world of beer. Regardless of your opinions
on beer, I encourage you to disregard your predispositions and venture into the wild
unknown that is beer.
If you ever find yourself needing help navigating these frothy waters, then my services are
available. As a Certified Cicerone (beer Sommelier), I design both private and public events
and have hosted beer dinners, taught classes, and consulted with restaurants.
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