Odd Breed Wild Ales

Odd Breed Wild Ales Brewery logo

Our process

Brew Day

We don’t own a brewhouse, so we brew our recipes at other breweries. We typically brew a 20 HL batch, and transfer the wort into a stainless-steel transport tank and drive the wort back to our barrel room. The wort is then transferred into our fermenters or directly into barrels for primary fermentation.

Fermentation

Our rustic, square fermentation tanks do not have insulation or temperature control, but we feel they are perfect for our fermentations. These shallow vessels limit hydrostatic pressure on our yeast while encouraging ester production. For many of our beers, we also employ open fermentation to allow our local microbes to contribute to the unique character of our beer. 

Barrel Aging

After primary fermentation is complete, we transfer the beer into large 500L French oak puncheons, where we age most of our beers for 1-3 years. During this time, our beer undergoes a long secondary fermentation by Brettanomyces and Pediococcus bacteria. 

Adding Fruit

Some of our beers referment fresh fruit in our custom stainless-steel tanks after barrel aging. We add fresh fruit at a modest level of one pound per gallon for intense fruit like Passion Fruit or Kumquats, and we use three to four pounds per gallon for local Peaches. Fruit refermentation is typically complete in 4-8 weeks.

Adding Dry Hops, Spices, Botanicals, or Teas

We produce a variety of beers that are dry hopped with whole cone hops after barrel aging. The flavor of whole cone hops is less intense than typical pellets, but also more nuanced and seems to add more texture to our beers. We also produce numerous beers that marinate for up to a few days on fresh spices, botanicals, or teas after barrel aging.

Packaging in Bottles and Kegs

We fill each bottle by hand on a gravity filler more commonly used for wine, and we seal our bottles with a natural cork held in place with a crown cap. Our beer is packaged still (without carbonation), and naturally carbonates after undergoing an additional fermentation in the bottle or keg. This final refermentation in the package helps produce highly effervescent and aromatic beers, and ensures our beer will age gracefully. We allow our beers to condition in the bottle or keg for three to nine months before we deem them ready to enjoy.