Renee is our newest beer in our lineup of oak aged blended farmhouse ales. A younger and hoppier version of Eldon, Renee was brewed with Krush and Dolcita hops and aged in neutral oak puncheons for an average of three months. Unlike Eldon, which is aged for over a year in oak and brewed with German noble hops, we were excited to capture more citrus and stone fruit hop flavor in this beer with new world hops and a shorter residency in oak.

Aging and then blending saison from oak vessels are some of our favorite beers to make. The relationship between time, oak, and our house mixed culture yeast strain continues to fascinate us. Oak is porous, allowing oxygen to slowly make it’s way into the beer and interact with the wild yeast cultures, particularly Brettanomyces. Over time the hop character fades and the Brett takes control, creating a funkier beer while highlighting our house culture. We were able to blend and package Renee before this happened, but that fermentation will eventually happen in the bottle and kegs.