Last March, two brewers from Washington headed to Switzerland to brew some collaborative beers. Shane Johns and Donovan Steward of Tacoma’s Engine House No. 9 Brewery traveled to the idyllic Swiss mountain town of Sainte-Croix to make beers with their friends at Brasserie Trois Dames. Then, in July, they collaborated again in Tacoma. Next Thursday, October 26, they’ll tap two of those collaborative efforts at the Engine House No. 9 Restaurant and Brewery.
Raphael Mettler, the owner and original brewer at Brasserie Trois Dames, opened the brewery back in 2003 and has been a huge promoter of craft beer culture in Europe ever since. Two years ago Raphael hired Jordan Keeper help fight for craft beer recognition in Europe, and also to help start the brewery’s funky and sour beer program. Jordan previously brewed with Jester King Brewery, a renowned sour and funky brewery in Austin, Texas. Jordan also helped build, from the ground up, Wolves and People Farmhouse Brewery in Newberg, OR.
“We decided to brew a funky, yet hopped-up Brett Pale Ale,” says Donovan Stewart. “Soleil des Duex Sources (5.4% ABV) is exactly that–a slightly funky, fruity aroma from the [E9’s] house brettanomyces blend we contributed, combines well with the generous Mosaic and Citra late hop additions.”
“It was an amazing experience,” says Donovan. “So naturally when we heard Jordan was going to be coming to the Pacific Northwest this last July we decided to try to create more magic together. Instead of actually brewing this time, we let Jordan loose in our barrel facility to come up with a delicious sour ale blend. With the blend fresh in our minds, we drove directly to the Sterino Farms fruit stand in the Puyallup Valley and tried all kinds of fresh berries. We decided to use Nectarberry (a boysenberry hybrid) and Obsidian Blackberry to add a subtle sweetness to the sour blend. The result, Le Visiteur (5.7% ABV) is a beautiful dark red colored wild ale with amazing jammy and stone fruit aromatics. Bottles of this beer are currently conditioning, but there will be a draft version available as well as bottles and draft of the Brett Pale Ale as well on October 26th.”
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