L’Intérimaire is a unique Belgian style ale brewed in collaboration with Megan Parisi, Brewmaster of the up and coming Bluejacket brewery based out of DC, which will be opening in early 2013.
Megan, Sam, and our Pub Brewer Ben got together and started kicking around ideas early this spring and the result of the brainstorm session was a base beer roughly in the style of a Belgian Saison, brewed with malted wheat and spelt, honey, Belgian rock candy syrup and Verjus Rouge. The beer was hopped solely with a newer French hop variety named Aramis, similar in flavor and aroma to German noble hop varieties.
Two special varietals of honey were added to this brew in the kettle – Hawaiian Macadamia honey, which is dark, nutty, and rich; and a local Wildflower honey from Zitvogel Farms in Bridgeville, DE, an extremely light colored honey with an intriguing apple-spice character. The beer was then fermented with a traditional Saison yeast strain.
Once fermentation was complete, the beer was cooled and transferred over to our conditioning vessel, and blended with an exotic grape juice from Fusion in Napa Valley called Verjus Rouge (pronounced vair-ZHOO), which is juice produced from unripened grapes. Before the grapes ripen, the acidity content is high with the sugar content low, and the juice made from these grapes has been used as a cooking ingredient since Roman times as an alternative to vinegar, and was highly popular in 14th and 15th century Paris.
Intérimaire is French for “interim”, a testament to Megan’s collaborative work leading up to the opening of Bluejacket, and the French speaking origins of the beer style, hops and verjus. The outcome is a beer with a subtle pale pinkish hue, similar to a light Rosé wine. The aroma is highlighted by vinous verjus and cracker, and the flavor follows with delicate acidity and grape notes balanced with layers of restrained malt and spicy yeast.
L’Intérimaire will go on tap Monday, 10/22/13 and will be available until it is all gone.
Due to limited availabiilty, our Brewpub Exclusive beers are not available in growlers.
