Local partnership results in a St. Patty's Day release event.
Fairport, NY - Casa Larga Vineyards, part of the Finger Lakes Region of New York State, and Fairport Brewing Company are releasing a new product made using both wine and beer. The beer shows how brewers and winemakers can work together to craft unique beverages that showcase the qualities of both. It will be released on March 14, in an event themed around St. Patty's Day.
Wine-beer hybrids aren't unheard of, but they are few and far between. Casa Larga Winemaker Matt Cassavaugh and Fairport Brewing Brewmaster Paul Guarracini worked together very closely to create the hybrid, called Tank & Barrel. According to Guarracini, it is somewhere in between the realm of beer and the realm of wine. It ties together two local products: local wine and craft beer.
"Tank & Barrel was made by fermenting together a 50/50 mix of brewers wort and winemakers juice. The wort is a Belgian-style Saison and the juice is from estate-grown Muscat grapes. The yeast we used is a Belgian Saison strain, a beer yeast," explains Guarracini. "After fermentation was complete, a second 'marriage' of wort and juice occurred. More grape juice and hops were added just before carbonation."
Planning
The Tank & Barrel project began with an idea from the winery to dabble in beer. Wanting a local partner, they reached out to Fairport Brewing - an easy match as the winery serves their beers at the summer Patio Party events and on tap in the wine shop, along with other local brews and root beer. Alternately, Casa Larga's wines are served at the Fairport Brewing taproom.
Several meetings with the brewing team and winery team took place before the winery's 2014 grape harvest in late September. They selected a grape variety and beer style that would work well together: Muscat Ottonel wine grapes and the Saison beer style.
Why Muscat:
- Produces an aromatic juice
- Stands up to, and complements the beer component
Why Fairport's "Jordan Saison:"
- Saisons are typically somewhat light, and often cloudy and highly carbonated.
- The aroma profile is usually driven by notes of spice and fruitiness
- Characteristics from the yeast create a synergistic harmony with the aromas of the Muscat.
- Saison yeast strains are typically hardy and are more tolerant of the elevated levels of sugar and acidity from the grape juice.
Coordinating harvest and fermentation
Preliminary planning was crucial because grape juice is a perishable item. Therefore the beer had to be brewed in very short order after the grapes were harvested and pressed.
The grapes were picked from the Casa Larga vineyard on Turk Hill Road in Fairport and immediately pressed into juice. After a bit of clarification, the juice was moved to Fairport Brewing's production facility where it was co-fermented, along with beer wort. Beer wort is a combination of water, malted grain, and hops. Next, it was dry hopped, a process of adding hops to a beer after primary fermentation, and finally carbonated.
Release Details
The new craft beer is $6 per pint at the Casa Larga Wine Shop and Fairport Brewing. Growlers are $12, or $16 with the glass and are available at the Casa Larga wine shop and the Fairport Brewing taproom. Casa Larga also has a "growler station fill up" card: Purchase 10 growlers and receive the 11th free.
The beer will be released on March 14 for the Fairport Wine, Beer and Bailey's Crawl. The crawl will take place on Saturday, March 14 from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Casa Larga Vineyards, Fairport Brewing and the Towpath Restaurant. All three stops will offer special tasting for the pre-St. Patrick's Day event:
Casa Larga will serve hot Irish Potato soup with bacon and Cabot cheddar with a pint of a beer or wine of your choice for $8.
Fairport Brewing will offer a tasting of 6 different beers, or a seasonal pint for $6. The Brunch Box food truck will be on-site with corned beef and cabbage available for purchase, to pair perfectly with a Fairport Brew!
The Bistro at Towpath Café will have Chocolate Irish Cream cake desserts on special, and Irish cream coffees for the day. $5.00 for each or enjoy both for $8.00.
