Introducing Off Color / Side Project / Jester King Intersection of Species

We’re pleased to announce the release of Intersection of Species — our collaboration with Off Color Brewing in Chicago, Illinois and Side Project Brewing in Saint Louis, Missouri! Intersection of Species is a farmhouse ale brewed with Texas raw wildflower honey, fermented with a blend of mixed cultures from all three breweries, and re-fermented with tangerine zest and juice.

We think it’s fair to say that Off Color, Side Project, and Jester King are three breweries intent on creating unique, interesting, and enjoyable characteristics through mixed culture fermentation. We’ve independently collected and maintained cultures of microbes from the environments that surround us, and in this case, blended our respective cultures to create a new beer. Embracing the surprise, uncertainly, and natural variation that exists outside the realm of pure culture brewers yeast is what motivates us as brewers, and is what continually excites us in terms of beer making. We sense a growing acknowledgement that the microbes that surround us are responsible for creating so many of the wonderful sensory experiences in our food and drink. For instance, the wine world seems to be zeroing in on how microorganisms existing in different vineyards around the world contribute to terroir. We hope this beer contributes to this growing sense of acknowledgement, and can be enjoyed as something that’s singular in time and place due to the intersection of our breweries’ mixed cultures.

Intersection of Species was brewed on November 19th, 2015 with well water, locally malted barely from Blacklands Malt, spelt, hops, and Texas raw wildflower honey. It was fermented in stainless steel with a blend of mixed cultures from Off Color, Side Project, and Jester King, and then re-feremented with tangerine zest and juice. Intersection of Species was packaged on December 22nd, 2015, and was allowed to naturally condition in bottles, kegs, and casks. At the time of packaging, the beer had a gravity of 1.002 (0.5 degrees Plato), was 4.6% alcohol by volume, 20 IBU, and 4.2 pH.

We’re very excited to announce that Intersection of Species will be released this Thursday, April 14th at Zwanze Day at Jester King! Joining us at Jester King for the release will be John Laffler of Off Color and Karen and Cory King of Side Project! Expect a few other special surprises as well! Intersection of Species will be available by the glass, as well as to go in bottles (750ml/$12). About 4,000 bottles are available. We made Intersection of Species t-shirts and glassware to mark the occasion, which will be available at our tasting room.

Microorganisms from Side Project

Brewday at Jester King

t-shirt design