A pretty important beer release for 42 North Brewing is coming up this weekend as Sojourn, the first ever wild/sour ale to come out of the barrels at 42 Below Barrel House, will make its debut. The small batch beer will be released both on draft and in limited bottles on Saturday, March 24 at 12pm.
Sojourn (8% ABV) is a French Chardonnay Barrel Aged Belgian Ale that was re-fermented with Brettanomyces and then blended with a 15-month old Sour Blonde Ale. Sojourn opens with notes of white grapes and barnyard funk. It’s bright, dry and effervescent, with notes of chardonnay oak barrel and grape, papaya and pineapple.
There is a limit of four bottles per customer and no crowler or growler fills will be available.
“I’m very excited about this release for a couple reasons,” 42 North Chief Brewing Officer Clay Keel says. “One, it is the first wild or sour ale to come out of our new 42-Below Barrel House which opened late last year. Second, this is a fantastic one to start with because I think it will have a mass appeal. Sojourn is a Brett Saison, but with some of our seasonal Treaty Saison and a touch of barrel-aged sour blonde blended in for balance. The result is chardonnay notes from the barrels and overripe tropical fruits from a particular Brett strain we like. I’ve been previewing it for people and it appeals to wild beer fans and white wine drinkers alike.”
Sojourn also features an addition (approximately 15%) of 42 North’s Treaty Saison Belgian-Style Saison (6.5%), which also makes it return Saturday. Named in honor of the signing of the Treaty of Ghent, which brought about the end of the War of 1812 and opened up the Great Lakes region to American expansion, Treaty Saison is an authentic Belgian-style dry and tart saison featuring a simple grain bill and limited spice additions, with notes of light fruit and lemongrass.
Treaty Saison will be available for crowler and growler fills.
Along with the releases of Treaty Saison and Sojourn on Saturday, 42 North will also be live brewing their Five Cow Farm Maple Porter, a robust porter with flavors of mocha, coffee, black cherries, maple syrup and smoke that Alex Sowyrda, 42 North’s Director of Recipe Development, helped produce based on a tradition of homebrewing with maple sap and creek water, on Sunday, March 25 at 10am.
42 Below Barrel House opened its doors in September 2017. Located adjacent to 42 North in East Aurora, it serves as the production and aging facility for 42 North’s barrel aged and sour beer portfolio. It holds 50 oak barrels sourced from all over the world including previously used white wine, red wine, bourbon, and scotch barrels. In conjunction with 42 Below, 42 North launched “The Vagabond Society,” a member’s only club that offers its members exclusive events, first rights to barrel aged beers, and special discounts at 42 North. Only 100 memberships are available. For more information, visit the taproom or email vagabonds@42northbrewing.com.
Visit www.42below.blog for more information about 42 North’s barrel aging program and find more information on the beer releases here and here.
Brian Campbell is a co-founder/Brand Manager of the BNBA’s enthusiast arm, Buffalo Beer League, and writes the weekly Buffalo Beer Buzz column. If you have beer news that should be included in the Beer Buzz, Brian can be reached at buffalobeerleague@aol.com, on Twitter (@buffbeerleague), Instagram (@buffalobeerleague), Facebook (@thebuffalobeerleague) and www.buffalobeerleague.com.
