Thornbridge Heart Desires

This beer is part of a project we have been working on at the brewery for a few years now. We wanted to create a modern sour ale aged in barrels, with the same complexity and depth of flavour which our favourite sours from the USA offer. This beer started life as a simple blonde ale with low bitterness and was fermented with our house yeast. We then aged this in Burgundy barrels with the fruit for well over a year. Adding cultures of Brettanomyces, Pedicoccus and Lactobacillus at set points let us sour the beer gradually over many months and give layers of flavour that can only be developed over time. The fruit aroma and flavours compliment the sharp sourness which subsides for more malt and yeast character to come through. The resulting beer is a clean, zingy and intense blend of fruity tartness with intimations of crisp Sauvignon Blanc grapes.