Gray Winds alludes to what we lovingly/despairingly call the dark season here in the Pacific Northwest. These annual inward journeys often result in transformations within the darkness and inspire reflections on the past and hopeful spells for the future. Gray Winds is our series of fruited blends and cofermentations that aspires to capture specific moments in time from seasons past and present them to the future.
GW #4 – Sun Tracker
Sun Tracker is a blend of aged saisons refermented on Honey Punch Pluots, Shiro Plums, and conditioned on Lavender flowers. Sun Tracker alludes to the motion of plants in response to the direction of the sun. This movement is known as heliotropism.
This beer reminds us of strawberry popsicles. Walking through summer gardens. Brushing up against lavender shrubs. And also, drinking gin cocktails.
750ml bottle
6.7% abv
GW #3 – Painted Sunlight
Painted Sunlight is a blend of oak fermented gold ale and aged saisons that has been refermented on super ripe Saturn Peaches and White Pearl Nectarines.
During one of my first visits to the Northwest, I ate a peach for the first time. Now I’d had countless peaches in my life up until then but I had never really had a peach. This fuzzy beaut was at peak ripeness and biting into it was like a custardy stone fruit juice’splosion. Peach juice was on my face, running down my arm and made a sticky mess. It was glorious, a little obscene, and like how our 4 year old eats everything.
Painted Sunlight is inspired by this formative experience and starts with a soft creamy texture and is scented with peach perfume and warming spices. The acidity is bright and balanced along with peach rings and a side of marzipan.
750 ml bottle
5.2% abv
GW #2 – Bon Voyage
Bon Voyage uses A LOT of Regina and Montmorency cherries from Evans Family Fruit located in Hood River. Informed by traditional Lambic brewing methods but prepared méthode untraditionelle, the cherries were refermented on our oldest barrel fermented wild ale.
Brewed with a generous portion of raw wheat and aged hops, we partially cooled the wort in kettle before letting it come to room temp while slowly being influenced by the microbe magic in our brewery. Only then did we transfer the wort to the barrel, pitched our Hildgard and the Funky Bunch house culture and sent Bon Voyage on its long fermenting journey. The final blend introduces a young saison for freshness and fermentable sugars for conditioning.
Bon Voyage expresses rich cherry aromatics, cassia bark, rose, spiced pie crust, tame acid, and a cool damp cave.
750ml bottle
5.6% abv
GW # 1 – Strawberry
Young saison refermented on local Picha Farm Strawberries then blended with our barrel fermented gold ale. Rested in bottle with Yarrow from Duvall Herb Farm and Raw Wildflower Honey. Ripe Strawberry fields with a Yarrow companion and a hint of downwind pasture.
Gray Winds alludes to what we lovingly/despairingly call the dark season here in the Pacific Northwest. These annual inward journeys often result in transformations within the darkness and inspire reflections on the past and hopeful spells for the future. Gray Winds is our series of fruited blends and cofermentations that aspires to capture specific moments in time from seasons past and present them to the future.
750ml bottle
4.5% abv