Greater Than the Sum of Its Parts

(Avenue No. 3 Blending)

While on our European adventure, we spoke with Trevor from De Garde Brewing about how much fun we had blending with him last year when creating Avenue No. 1 and Avenue No. 2 for the folks at New Avenues for Youth and their amazing annual event Brews for New Avenues. The subject eventually got around to whether or not there would be an Avenue No. 3 for this years B4NA. Between the trip we were already on, the projects we had on the books, and Trevor's production schedule... we weren't very sure.

So as you can imagine we were very pleased to discover some free time for all parties involved in March 2017. Not only would Avenue No 3 be happening, but we would have a variety of Belgian Lambics to blend with as well. We called up our friend Bobby Taul, previously featured here on the blog, and he joined us on the trip last week. 

We met with James Bruce and Andy LoPiccolo from New Avenues at De Garde where Trevor treated us to a quick tour and a taste of some of his recent releases including two unblended lambic-inspired beers and his collaboration with Fonta Flora.

Our blending session began by setting our palates with a delicious bottle of Drie Fonteinen Vintage Oude Gueze 2002. It had held up very well and was the perfect way to start our morning.

After having tasted a few samples of Trevor's unblended barrels we knew which of his beers we wanted to serve as the base. Brewed in 2016, these 2 barrels were still relatively young and had a bright acidity and a pleasant amount of brettanomyces "funk" character. 

From there we experimented with the lambic options we had and ultimately decided on equal parts 2011, 2013, 2014, and 2015 while adding a smaller amount of 2012. This combination gave us a complex and rounded quality with no single note overpowering the other. Once blended with Trevor's barrels and just a little more adjusting we were very happy with the results.

The final product will be a 6 year blend of approximately 70% spontaneously fermented Oregon beer and 30% Lambic. We are expecting approximately 300 bottles.

This beer will only be available on August 19th, 2017 at BREWS FOR NEW AVENUES, the annual festival featuring a rare beer auction, live music, food trucks, and much more. All proceeds benefit NEW AVENUES FOR YOUTH, a great organization helping at risk youth in the Portland area.

Buy your tickets ASAP if you'd like access to this beer and many many others. VIP go on sale June 1st... General Admission coming soon. Also make sure to check out our recap of last year's event.