Two Brothers Meets French Oak With New Ale Series
By Chuck Sudo in Food on Mar 9, 2010 7:20PM
Last year, two Brothers Brewing invested in seven fresh French oak fermentation tanks, or "foudres," to do some barrel aging. Foudres, which are much larger than standard barrels, are widely used in the Rhône Valley for winemaking. Two Brothers decided they would revisit the practice of using these for oak aging.
The first two results, called the "J Series", are hitting bars and shelves next week. These two beers mark the first new year-round beers in the Two Brothers line since Cane & Ebel two years ago. "Long Haul" is a session ale with a good balance between the hops and malt, a 4.2 percent ABV content, light in body but (with 27 IBUs) full of flavor from the oak. "Resistence' is an oaked India Pale Ale weighing in at 70 IBUs and 6.9 percent ABV. Expect lots of pine, honey, a strong bitterness on the palate and persistent oak on the finish.
To celebrate the release of the J Series, Two Brothers will sponsor a tapping of the two beers next Tuesday at Hopleaf from 6-10 p.m..