Harmony Brewing Company’s New Wood Age Sour

Grand Rapids, Mich. – Harmony Brewing Company will be releasing our very first WOOD AGED SOUR BEER in bottles and on draft at both Harmony locations onThursday July 7th at 11am.

“Red Wattle” Flanders style red ale is the first in a series of 4 wood aged sour beers that Harmony will be releasing this summer.

A rare style in the United States, Flanders Red ale has been nicknamed the “Burgundy of Belgium.”  Its deep red color, rich tannins, and complex aroma and flavor lead some to consider it more wine-like than any other beer style.  (1)  The surprising complexity is achieved through a process of blending barrel aged ales.  Harmony’s Red Wattle was aged in multiple types of oak barrels, each of which was separately inoculated with a proprietary blend of souring agents.  Next, brewers sat back and let nature take its course allowing each individual barrel to develop its own completely distinct and surprising flavor- ranging from puckeringly sour and fruity, to mushroomy and earthy.  When the time was right, the brewers chose which barrels to blend together to create the perfect flavor profile for this truly exceptional beer.

Red Waddle pours a deep maroon red, with lively carbonation and light white head.  The aroma is of petrichor, tart fruit, and black cherries.  The flavor is tartly sour, but well-rounded with notes of vanilla, dark fruit, and oak.  It finishes dry, with a clean oaky tannin.

This first release of Harmony Wood Aged Sour Beers will be EXTREMELY LIMITED.  Less than 100 bottles will be labeled, wax dipped, and serialized for sale.  The Red Wattle will be available on tap at both locations, while it lasts.  New releases will happen monthly: The “Babirusa” Dry hopped farmhouse ale, the “Tamworth” sour golden ale, and the “Old Spot” dark farmhouse ale will be released respectively.