Firestone Walker Violet Underground, a cross-Atlantic ocean collaboration, debuts this week. Part of the brewery’s Barrelworks Program.
Jim Crooks, Firestone’s medal-winning master blender is good friends with Brett Ellis, co-founder, and brewer at England’s Wild Beer Company.
Dissecting this beer yeast first – Ellis sent Crooks some Wild Beer’s native yeast. Crooks then fermented two base beers. One with Barrelworks yeast and California golden raspberries, and the other with Wild Beer’s English funk. Both bases were aged in French oak between 6 months and a year. French candied violet petals were added to a handful of barrels. The result? Something Crooks calls a “head trip”.
“Violet Underground is an intentional head trip. It’s golden in color yet smells like raspberries, offering a bunch of unexpected sensory notes that all come together in the glass.”
The beer name is presumably a play on the 60’s rock band Velvet Underground, that once had Lou Reed.
Firestone Walker Violet Underground is the second packaged release in 2019, available in 375-ml bottles and draft
Style: American Wild Ale (w/ Golden Raspberries. Violet Petals. French Oak Aged.)
Availability: 375ml Bottles. Draft. Limited Release.
Debut: Early June 2019
