Biere de Peche (Scratch & Jester King Collaboration) Release
We couldn't be more thrilled to announce that a very special collaboration beer we brewed with Jester King from Austin, Texas, is available in our tasting room this weekend and until we run out!
Almost exactly one year ago, founder Jeffrey Stuffings and head chef Damien Brockway joined us for a weekend of foraging and brewing. They brought peach leaves, lemon balm, and juniper from their property in Austin, Texas, and we added lavender, laurel, and clover from the woods and garden around Scratch. The idea was to create a beer reminiscent of Vin de Peche, a fortified botanical wine product made with peach leaves. Mashed in oak puncheons, brewed over a wood fire, and fermented with Scratch's wild house culture, it is a beer that celebrates the local flora of two breweries driven by making beer with a sense of place. As happens every now and again in November in Southern Illinois, the brew day finished with a freak snow storm that cooled our hot wort during the knock out, insuring that this particular beer will never be able to be exactly recreated!
The base beer is modeled after a Belgian Tripel-style strong ale and has a beautiful silky mouthfeel with surprising peach flavor and aroma considering there is no fruit in the beer! It finishes with notes of wild spice. Conditioned for nearly a year before release, this beer is ready to drink now and is intended to hold up well to cellaring and clocks in at 8.8% abv. It is $20 for a 750 ml bottle and is available in our tasting room starting today!