Pit Caribou released the first ever spontaneously fermented beer in Quebec not too long ago. It has taken some time for me to get to this one. But I wanted to make sure I take the time to really sit on my thoughts for a while. Not really though…. just been a cluster of taking some time to rest up, start a new job, and try to organize my files for faster and more frequent articles. In doing so it seems it caused a severe amount of backlog. But I certainly wanted to write this one out soon! I was eager to get started on this.

 

During the summer I had the opportunity to really dive in deep with some of Pit Caribous wild ales and sours. And I was highly impressed at the kinds of beers Francis Joncas has been concocting up lately. I got to enjoy a lot of them on a fine evening with Francis himself, as well as other good friends, at the Montreal Pub, located on Rue Rachel in the Plateau. Drinking the beers alongside the brewer added a bit of a personal touch to the experience. And when you have a brewer like Francis, who is welcoming, warm hearted, kind and gentle, drinking his beers with him is like a magical experience for any craft beer fan boy. You can read more about that Here: Pit Caribou sours, wilds and so on.

The Perséides, as I’m sure many have heard, is pretty sought after in the market today. Having a fairly limited release with only 1350 bottled released to the public, it’s no mystery it has garnered a lot of attention. Couple that with being the first ever spontaneously fermented beer in Quebec, is a cause for unwavering thoughts along the lines of “I need this beer in my life.”

I am no expert on all styles of beers. There are a select specific style of beers I tend to know more about. I have barely had any Lambics or spontaneously fermented beers. So I am not sure what to really expect from this beer. Not having any expectation or plane to compare it to makes this experience that much better. I can enjoy this beer for what it is and what the brewer intended it to be, rather than what I want it to be.

The general process of beer requires fermentation, which is the process of using various strains of yeast to metabolize the sugars, in the absence of oxygen, extracted from the grains, which produce alcohol and carbon dioxide and turn the wort into beer. The use of different types of yeast contribute to the characters and flavors of the beer. A spontaneously fermented beer however, does not utilize added yeast strains to metabolize the sugars from the grain. Rather the wort is exposed to cool outside air, via a coolship. Theoretically these beers can be brewed anywhere, but since they relay on outside cool air, the same recipe is difficult to repeat in a different region of the world.  That is what makes these beers that much more interesting.

 

 

Pit Caribou Perséides
Sour Wild / Lambic Style || ABV: 5.5% || IBU: –

 

On the nose I am getting whisky notes and a bit of a sour spicy scent. To taste it has a great earthiness to it. Which hits you first, along with some of the qualities of the Whiskey barrel coming through as well. Towards the end the whiskey barrel is prominent with a bold dryness and a bit of a unique yeast at the end. The earthiness dances around a bit, but that yeasty flavor becomes prominent. It has a bit of funk with a mellow acidity level. It’s very light and easy to drink overall.

I am really excited to see what more Francis Joncas comes up with next, especially interested in his new project, Brett Et Sauvage.

 

Words + Photography by Hopcitizen