Vista Brewing Releases Oenobeer Series
Driftwood’s Vista Brewing is taking their barrel-aging program in an unusual new direction with the release of three new limited edition wine-beer hybrid ales known as oenobeers. Oenobeers are not unknown to the craft brewing world (nationally-available examples of the style include Dogfish Head’s Mixed Media and Firestone Walker’s Bretta Blanc), but the style is uniquely well-suited to Vista’s Hill Country locale, an area with deep historical brewing and winemaking traditions.
The process of creating the oenobeers began when the Vista brewmaster took three of his maturing barrel-aged wild ales and matched them to a wine grape juice that would enhance the existing flavor and character of the beer. The grape juice was sourced from Hye’s William Chris Vineyards and Johnson City’s Lewis Wines and was added to the beer barrels within 24 hours of harvest in Summer 2019. The juice and beer co-fermented for 14 months, resulting in a beer with approximately 15% juice content. The trio of beer/wine combinations includes a wild ale with Picpoul Blanc juice, a Lambic-style ale with Roussanne grapes, and a Brett ale with Cabernet Sauvignon.
The oenobeer series joins a flurry of recent barrel-aged releases from Vista, including collaborations with Central Texas distillers Desert Door Texas Sotol, Balcones Distilling, and Treaty Oak Distilling. The brewery’s barrel-aging program. The oenobeers and distillery collaborations are available for a limited time at the brewery and Vista’s Bee Cave tasting room in 4-ounce tasting pours, 8-ounce glasses, or 500-milliliter bottles. A bottle set including all three beers with tasting note cards cost $45. The brewery recommends cellaring the beers for an additional five to ten years.
Vista Brewing is located at 13551 FM150 W, Driftwood, Texas, 78619 and a new Tasting Room located at the Hill Country Galleria in Bee Cave, Texas. Learn more at www.vistabrewingtx.com and on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
