Part Two of Our Arizona Wilderness Collaboration
June 3, 2015
Last week we traveled to the Phoenix area to brew the second part of our collaboration with Arizona Wilderness Brewing Co.! We brewed the same wort for our “Pecan Bière de Garde” as we did at Jester King back in January of 2015, which featured Johnathan Buford of Arizona Wilderness serenading our coolship as it filled.
For the wort, we brought Texas grown pecans and raw wheat to go with local wheat and pecans from Arizona.
For fermentation, we drove out a pitch of our mixed culture of native yeast and bacteria, which Arizona Wilderness propped-up and added to the wort. Fermentation will slowly occur over the next several months in oak puncheons in the barrel room at Arizona Wilderness.
One of the most inspirational parts of our trip to Arizona Wildnerness was seeing the relationships they’ve developed with local farmers. They have a close partnership with Agritopia in Gilbert, Arizona, where they source produce and grow hops for their beer. They also make use of Sonoran white wheat, a heritage grain from Arizona. During the trip they introduced us to the film maker of The Grain Divide, which explores concerns about modern growing practices for wheat and grains. We were able to learn a lot about making responsible and sustainable use of the land here at Jester King in the future. They also put on an outstanding beer dinner right in the meadow at Agritopia while we were in town!
Part 1 of the collaboration is maturing nicely at Jester King after being inoculated with native yeast and bacteria during overnight cooling in our coolship. If all continues to go well, we may begin blending and packaging late this year. We have high hopes as well for the beer we just brewed with Arizona Wilderness as it slowly matures over time in their barrel room.
Finally, as we’ve come to know well, Arizona Wilderness is composed of some of the nicest, most genuine people you’ll find, and it was wonderful to work with them. We look forward to seeing them again as we blend, package, and eventually release the beers we’ve brewed together!
