The buzz with beer-wine hybrids
Centuries-old beverage is rising in popularity with Ontario brewers
Just because two things are good doesn’t mean they are good together.
But tell that to the scores waiting anxiously for the next release of Outrageous Fortune or Sea of Troubles, part of the Fates and Furies series from Indie Alehouse. Or those who lined up to get Bumo V, the latest in a series from Burdock Brewery.
The beverages are part of a growing thirst for beer-wine hybrids, which have been brewed for hundreds of years internationally and have recently gained in popularity among Ontario craft brewers and drinkers.
There’s no set makeup for a beer-wine hybrid. Brewers generally take components of the beer-making process and components of the winemaking process, such as the barrels or grape skins and combine them using patience and expertise, said Matthew Park, director and owner of Burdock.
And it’s not only Ontarians looking for hybrids, Burdock has had interest internationally with orders from Singapore to Stockholm and domestically in B.C. and Quebec.
Burdock released around 900 x 375 mL bottles of Bumo V to the public through its bottle shop on July 21, and it sold out that same day. It was the 5th iteration in its collaboration with Niagara winery Pearl Morissette and sold for $14.75 per bottle.
Bumo V is a love-child of beer and wine. It is a blend of 40 per cent full malolactic riesling and 60 per cent mixed fermenta- tion wild ale, barrel aged on orange wine skins from Pearl Morissette’s Cuvée Blu. Bumo V drinks very much like a white Italian sparkling wine — freshly scooped melon and bright lemon with tiny creamy white bubbles, Park said.
The collaboration with Pearl Morissette happened organically.
“It came about with us falling in love with their wines. They have parallels to Belgian lambic,” said Park, referring to a style of beer with a pronounced acidity, multi-layered aroma and flavour that can include rhubarb, lemon, red apple and earthy notes.
It was also borne of a friendship between Burdock brewers and the winemakers, said Svetlana Atcheva, wine ambassador at Pearl Morissette.
“It started out not as a mission of any sort but more out of a friendship that developed,” Atcheva said.
When it’s available Bumo is sold at Burdock Brewery and also at Pearl Morissette in Jordan, Ont, where it’s developed a cultlike following.
“We have 65- and 75-year-old grandmas who don’t drink, sending their grandkids to get Bumo,” Atcheva said.
And what appeals to both the winemakers and brewers is the creativity hybrids allow.
“In winemaking there are so many materials that can be used in beer-making. It’s fun for us to work with something that’s a bridging material,” Atcheva said.
There’s definitely a buzz around beer-wine hybrids as breweries clamour to get them on the shelves, but is it just the unicorn factor?
“Novelty will only sell a beer for a day or two,” said Indie Alehouse owner Jason Fisher. He believes the popularity lies in the quality and craftsmanship of the beverages being released.
“If you do it right, it tastes great. It’s a whole other level of skill,” Fisher said.
“From a beer geek point of view, they’re good and from a beer drinker point of view they’re very good,” he said.
Indie Alehouse has just released Ritual Madness, a Flanders Red Ale, aged on grape lees (pressed grape skins) through their bottle shop, though it’s currently not on tap.
“We age the beer a long time and each batch is a blend of 2-year-old and 6-month-old vintages to create depth of flavour. When you blend, you have to wait for the new mixture to age a little, so it’s close. We taste every week or two until its ready,” Fisher said.
Indie Alehouse is also working on the next release of Grendel’s Revenge, which will be available in August.