This is the first sour beer made by the Hofstetten Brewery.

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Admittedly, much of the knowledge that went into this beer came directly from Matthias Neidhart, owner of US importer B. United. He has been working with barrel-aged sour beers for years now, and we were able to benefit greatly from his experience.

Using Raboso red wine barrels from the Sandre Vini Vineyards in Italy, we aged our Granitbock over the period of several months, allowing the a naturally occurring bacteria therein, especially the wild brettanomyces yeast, to take hold. The “wild bretts” in this beer are also common in red wines, and are marked by their characteristic barnyard aromas. Along with the brett yeasts, lactic bacteria has also found a home in this beer, lending it a wonderful sour yet sweet complexity.

Once we pulled the final product from the barrels, we had something truly delicious, albeit flat. The beer was therefore primed and filled into bottles, where it underwent one last minor fermentation process, breathing carbonation back into it. On the first sip, one immediately gets the light sour notes which combine playfully with the malty, roasted flavors. From sip to sip the beer becomes more complex –

A truly dynamic beer to behold and enjoy. We are excited to see how it continues to develop over time.