Introducing Jester King Provenance

We are pleased to introduce Jester King Provenance — a series of three farmhouse ales brewed with different combinations of winter citrus fruit. The first of the three batches was brewed with the zest and juice of grapefruits and oranges. The second batch incorporated the zest and juice of lemons and limes, and the third batch used the zest and juice of tangerines and clementines.

All three variations are dry, highly-attenuated, authentic farmhouse ales, brewed with Hill Country well water, malted barley, malted wheat, hops, and fermented with a unique blend of brewer’s yeast, native wild yeast, and native souring bacteria. Their flavors are yeast and souring bacteria driven with the fruits serving as integral components of the fermentation. We don’t add fruit (or fruit flavorings or concentrates for that matter) to filtered and pasteurized beer at packaging time to make what amounts to a beer cooler. Rather, we incorporate the fruit into the fermentation, so that wild yeast and souring bacteria can transform the fruit flavors into something that’s greater than the sum of the parts. For instance, think about the difference between grape juice and wine. Why are the two so different from one another? It’s because the grape juice has been fermented by living microorganisms. We apply the same principle to the use of fruit in our beer.

When working with a diverse array of microorganisms and embracing nature, as we do at Jester King, it’s never possible to know exactly how long a given batch of beer will take before it’s ready. In the case of Provenance, even through the batch with lemons and limes was brewed after the batch with oranges and grapefruits, it matured more quickly and will be the first of the three beers released. Provenance with lemons and limes will be released at Jester King Brewery when our tasting room opens at 4pm on Friday, June 20th. It will be available by the glass, as well as in bottles to go (750ml, $12 per bottle, limit 3 bottles per customer per day). We have approximately 200 cases available (750ml x 12) and do not foresee it being distributed beyond our brewery aside from special events. We will also have Provenance glassware (pictured below, $7/glass) available for sale beginning on June 20th.

Provenance with oranges and grapefruits will be released next sometime in July. We have a greater quantity of Provenance with oranges and grapefruits (approximately 600 cases), and we expect it to see limited distribution in Texas. Finally, Provenance with tangerines with clementines will be released at our brewery sometime in July or August. The batch with tangerines with clementines is smaller (about 200 cases), and we do not foresee it being distributed outside our brewery aside from special events.

Here are some photos of Jester King Provenance and the steps we took to make it:


Jester King Provenance — Orange & Grapefruit


Jester King Provenance — Lemon & Lime


Zested orange


Oranges and grapefruits


Zesting oranges


Oranges and grapefruits from G and S Groves


Jester King Co-Founder Michael Steffing (left) and Head Brewer Garrett Crowell (right) juicing and zesting grapefruits