Introducing Jester King Detritivore

We are pleased to announce the release of our newest beer, Jester King Detritivore, which will be available at the brewery during our normal tasting room hours, beginning this Friday, July 11, at 4pm. Detritivore was made by adding the same cherries that were used to make Montmorency vs. Balaton to fresh beer in stainless steel and allowing the combined beer and fruit to referment to dryness. This was the same technique that we originally used to make La Vie en Rose with the raspberries from Atrial Rubicite. As with La Vie en Rose, the second refermentation of the fruit results in subtler, more delicate flavors, as compared with the more intense flavors that result from the initial refermentation.

Detritivore is also among the first Jester King beers to be brewed with aged hops that were matured for an extended period of time in a horse barn approximately 300 yards from the brewery. Aged hops are traditionally used in the production of authentic Belgian Lambic. The aging process preserves the antiseptic properties of the hops, which serve to fend off unfriendly microorganisms, while significantly reducing the bittering components. Aged hops also take on a very different flavor than fresh hops, contributing to some of the barnyard and horse blanket flavors and aromas traditionally associated with Lambic. Some of these same flavors and aromas can be found in Detritivore, though Detritivore is not and does not purport to be Lambic. Authentic Lambic must be 100% spontaneously fermented, and can only be made in the Zenne Valley surrounding Brussels and in the city of Brussels itself.

Detritivore is fermented using native yeast and bacteria from the Texas Hill Country, but is not spontaneously fermented, as our brewers actively introduce our house blend of saccharomyces, native wild yeast, and souring bacteria to the wort, rather than relying on inoculation by ambient, airborne microorganisms. We brewed 100% spontaneously fermented beer both last winter and the previous winter, but all of this beer is currently aging in oak barrels and has yet to be released.

The grist for Detritivore was composed of malted barely and malted wheat. It is 5.5% alcohol by volume, with a finishing gravity of 1.000 and is 3.4 pH at the time of bottling. About 200 cases (750ml x 12) are available, which will be sold exclusively at Jester King Brewery (750ml / $14), with a limit of 3 bottles per person per day.


Jester King Detritivore


The barn where we age our hops


Hops aging in burlap bags in the attic of the barn