The Barrel Shepherd's Afterlife series sees them give grape skins from the winemaking industry a new life in their beers. For spring 2023, the grape pomace took the form of zibibbo (the Italian name for muscat) and vermentino skins from their friends at Aristotelis Ke Anthoula. They feature in a beer that was aged for a total of 23 months, with five months conditioning in bottles prior to release.
This was another beer I shared with beer industry mates and the reaction can be neatly summarised as: "Bloody delightful."
If you want more insight, this very pale liquid with a light, cloudy haze opens with white wine-esque top notes but remains very much a beer at heart. There's something of an earthy, herbal element underpinning the fruitier wine-like flavours of nashi pear, passionfruit and pineapple. Add in a crisp, crunchy acidity and a minerality one taster likened to the amphora-fermented wines of Trofeo Estate and you've got, well, something bloody delightful.
James Smith
Published October 20, 2023 2023-10-20 00:00:00
