My good friend, Zac, started a band (Juno Day) some time ago with his friend Chris. This past fall, they embarked on the task of recording/producing a studio recorded album. The album, Chauvet, was released last week and their album release show is slated for March. As soon as I found out they were recording I approached Zac about brewing a beer to celebrate the occasion.
The next order of business was actually listening to the album to come up with an appropriate recipe and overall style. As soon as the music became available, GLG and I spent a Friday evening listening to the full album. Some of the songs were familiar as we have seen Juno Day perform twice over the last year. Other songs were not so familiar but still have the same feel and vibe. Following the Friday listening 'sesh', I listened to the album a few moretimes at my office. I'm not going to sit here and write a music review (we all know I listen to Pearl Jam on repeat most of the time), but each song on Juno Day's Chauvet has so many layers. It only made sense to come up with a beer that is equally complex.
As the story goes, Juno Day was dreamt up while Zac and Chris were abroad in Spain. Zac has told me how cheap and plentiful wine is there, and how most days ended with a bottle of locally made wine. It was only natural to incorporate wine into the beer and to give the beer the many-layered complexity that is associated with wine.
This beer started off life as a Pale Ale but quickly turned into something else entirely. There is a rich malt base, backed up with a touch of Chocolate Malt and Special B. The hops are American Amarillo for a citrusy background, but light enough to not dominate. White Wine must (unfermented wine grape juice) was added at flameout. To finish the beer, Paradise Seeds, Elderflowers and Rose Hips were added. They give the beer some earthy/herbal notes and tie it all together. Going in to the fermenter, this beer tasted like nothing else I've ever brewed. It's being fermented with American Ale yeast for a clean flavor profile, it should end up about 6.6% ABV.
The next order of business was actually listening to the album to come up with an appropriate recipe and overall style. As soon as the music became available, GLG and I spent a Friday evening listening to the full album. Some of the songs were familiar as we have seen Juno Day perform twice over the last year. Other songs were not so familiar but still have the same feel and vibe. Following the Friday listening 'sesh', I listened to the album a few moretimes at my office. I'm not going to sit here and write a music review (we all know I listen to Pearl Jam on repeat most of the time), but each song on Juno Day's Chauvet has so many layers. It only made sense to come up with a beer that is equally complex.
As the story goes, Juno Day was dreamt up while Zac and Chris were abroad in Spain. Zac has told me how cheap and plentiful wine is there, and how most days ended with a bottle of locally made wine. It was only natural to incorporate wine into the beer and to give the beer the many-layered complexity that is associated with wine.
This beer started off life as a Pale Ale but quickly turned into something else entirely. There is a rich malt base, backed up with a touch of Chocolate Malt and Special B. The hops are American Amarillo for a citrusy background, but light enough to not dominate. White Wine must (unfermented wine grape juice) was added at flameout. To finish the beer, Paradise Seeds, Elderflowers and Rose Hips were added. They give the beer some earthy/herbal notes and tie it all together. Going in to the fermenter, this beer tasted like nothing else I've ever brewed. It's being fermented with American Ale yeast for a clean flavor profile, it should end up about 6.6% ABV.
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