Jester King SPON Méthode Traditionelle
Our first brew was a turbid mash of 60% malted barley and 40% raw Texas wheat. We followed the mash schedule found in Jeff Sparrow’s Wild Brews. The first runnings were very starchy. We boiled the wort for four hours with hops aged in burlap bags in the attic of our horse barn.
We transferred the entire batch of wort to a ~15 barrel coolship we had fabricated out of stainless steel. We let the wort cool overnight exposed to airborne yeast and bacteria. The next day, we racked the cooled wort to oak puncheons without pitching any yeast or bacteria. We then waited patiently to see if anything would happen.
After about a week, and much to our amazement, the wort started to ferment. Early on, the beer was very harsh, astringent, and bitter. It had an unpleasant grainy character, smelled like cooked corn, and was very turbid. The only thing that gave us hope at that point, was the beer still tasted pretty “clean” despite the astringency and noticeable off-flavors. But then, after about six months, we noticed a transformation. The grainy, cooked corn aroma gave way to a very pleasant musty attic, barnyard scent. The bitterness still lingered, but the astringency had mellowed. We could tell the beer was slowly becoming more refined as it aged. This gave us hope — enough hope that we were encouraged to try spontaneous fermentation again the following winter.
The winter of 2014 marked our second coolship season. Unlike our first season in 2013, where we only did two 15 barrel batches, we did around a dozen coolship brews the second season. Fermentation was vigorous, and the beer overall was less bitter and more sour than 2013. We believe this had to do with decreasing our hopping rate for our second season. We used around 0.75 pounds per barrel of hops rather than 1.25 pounds per barrel. We also think our aged hops had less bitterness after another full year aging in the attic of the horse barn.
Our third coolship season began in January, 2015. By this point, we were pretty confident the wort would spontaneously ferment and slowly mature over time. We felt we hit our sweet spot in terms of our hopping rate, settling around one pound per barrel. Balancing acidity is a critical part of what we do, and we really like the soft, restrained acidity from our 2015 coolship season.
Finally, in February of 2016 we created our first blend! We took ten percent beer from 2013, thirty percent beer from 2014, and sixty percent beer from 2015, blended it, then packaged it in bottles and kegs. We did not pitch any yeast or bacteria at the time of bottling, but rather relied on the microbes still alive in the beer for refermentation. We did however add a dose of priming sugar at the time of packaging. We experimented with refermenting the blend using the residual sugar in the younger beer. However, this technique did not produce the level of carbonation we wanted. We refermented the bottles on their sides. Not only is this true to the traditional method of Gueuze, but we’ve become huge proponents of shallow vessel fermentation on a sensory level.
The three year blend has been slowly maturing in bottles since February, 2016 and will be nine months old at the time of release. Extended refermentation and maturation in the serving vessel is another technique that’s true to the method of Gueuze, which we find absolutely critical. A lot of the funky, basement cellar, musty attic aromas that we love simply are not present at the time of blending and need time in the bottle to develop. In our opinion, there is no substitute for extended refermentation / maturation for beers of this style.
We transferred the entire batch of wort to a ~15 barrel coolship we had fabricated out of stainless steel. We let the wort cool overnight exposed to airborne yeast and bacteria. The next day, we racked the cooled wort to oak puncheons without pitching any yeast or bacteria. We then waited patiently to see if anything would happen.
After about a week, and much to our amazement, the wort started to ferment. Early on, the beer was very harsh, astringent, and bitter. It had an unpleasant grainy character, smelled like cooked corn, and was very turbid. The only thing that gave us hope at that point, was the beer still tasted pretty “clean” despite the astringency and noticeable off-flavors. But then, after about six months, we noticed a transformation. The grainy, cooked corn aroma gave way to a very pleasant musty attic, barnyard scent. The bitterness still lingered, but the astringency had mellowed. We could tell the beer was slowly becoming more refined as it aged. This gave us hope — enough hope that we were encouraged to try spontaneous fermentation again the following winter.
The winter of 2014 marked our second coolship season. Unlike our first season in 2013, where we only did two 15 barrel batches, we did around a dozen coolship brews the second season. Fermentation was vigorous, and the beer overall was less bitter and more sour than 2013. We believe this had to do with decreasing our hopping rate for our second season. We used around 0.75 pounds per barrel of hops rather than 1.25 pounds per barrel. We also think our aged hops had less bitterness after another full year aging in the attic of the horse barn.
Our third coolship season began in January, 2015. By this point, we were pretty confident the wort would spontaneously ferment and slowly mature over time. We felt we hit our sweet spot in terms of our hopping rate, settling around one pound per barrel. Balancing acidity is a critical part of what we do, and we really like the soft, restrained acidity from our 2015 coolship season.
Finally, in February of 2016 we created our first blend! We took ten percent beer from 2013, thirty percent beer from 2014, and sixty percent beer from 2015, blended it, then packaged it in bottles and kegs. We did not pitch any yeast or bacteria at the time of bottling, but rather relied on the microbes still alive in the beer for refermentation. We did however add a dose of priming sugar at the time of packaging. We experimented with refermenting the blend using the residual sugar in the younger beer. However, this technique did not produce the level of carbonation we wanted. We refermented the bottles on their sides. Not only is this true to the traditional method of Gueuze, but we’ve become huge proponents of shallow vessel fermentation on a sensory level.
The three year blend has been slowly maturing in bottles since February, 2016 and will be nine months old at the time of release. Extended refermentation and maturation in the serving vessel is another technique that’s true to the method of Gueuze, which we find absolutely critical. A lot of the funky, basement cellar, musty attic aromas that we love simply are not present at the time of blending and need time in the bottle to develop. In our opinion, there is no substitute for extended refermentation / maturation for beers of this style.
3.9
181 reviews
Austin, United States
Community reviews
Somewhat geuzy, but not the real thing. A bit watered down. Champagne like qualities. Good, but not the real thing. Had it again a year later and was more spontaneous beer, liked it better.
Proefglas van 75cl-fles op tasting bij Wout. Merci! U: Wazig goudblond-oranje met een dunne witte schuimkraag. G: Hout, rubber, brett, beetje abrikoos, "funky" en hooi. S: Zoetzuur. Brett, vlezig, abrikoos, perzik en hout. Droge afdronk. M: Doordrinker met stevige carbonatie.
75 cl fles. Op het etiket "Jester King SPON 2 Three Year Blend (2017)" 5,7% Alc. We gaan er maar vanuit gaan dat het om hetzelfde bier gaat zeker? Wazig goudblond bier met wit schuim. Geur: hout, licht zurig, wat funky. Smaak: licht zuur, citrus. Medium koolzuurprikkel. Geuze? Don't be ridiculous.
3 year Spon. Murky, has a nice lambicy brett note but it’s murky, a bit woody. Not great.
On tap at Koelschip. Slightly hazy orange with a small white head. Tart aroma of funk, fruit, oak and some hints of vinegar. A nicely drinkable one.
Bottle. Pours a cloudy amber with light head. Aromas of burnt citrus, dull fruity esters, and sharp wheat. Flavors follow same with additional sharp oak.
Draft. 2017 vintage. Amber beer with a cream head. Yeast and light sour aroma with grapefruit. Grapefruit and light sour flavor with light oak. Medium bodied. Grapefruit and light oak linger with light sourness.
200 ml draft at Mikkeller Bar Singapore. This particular brew is a Spon 3 year blend (2018). Appearance is a slightly hazy, light straw coloured pour with a little transient white froth. Aroma is strongly farmyard notes, and some funkiness. Taste is a mixture of tart, sour notes and farmyard, saison flavours mixed with a good dose of funkiness.
MBCC 2019, as SPON 3 Three year blend.
Poured golden in color.
Tark, funky nose, apricots.
Dry, tart with apple skin. Dry finish. Interesting.
had this on tap at the mikkeller beer celebration 2019. This was a great beer that helped to clear my palate
Fat Koelchip, Köpenhamn. Klar orange vätska. Doft av jäst, stall, vinäger och citron. Torr i smak med äpplekart, citron, trä och vinäger.
SPON #3
Aroma: Funky, peaches, leather, figs.
Appearance: Orange, no head.
Taste: Dry. Just dry. And sour of course.
Palate: Medium carbonation, soft on the palate.
Overall: Good, funky, could be more complex but still very nice.
SPON #4
Aroma: Funky, cheese, peach, vanilla, apple, hay.
Appearance: Clear orange with small white head.
Taste: Dry, sour.
Palate: Medium carbonation, medium body.
Overall: I swear I get some blue cheese aromas in this one. Funky, complex, interesting, better than #3.
Tap at Cloudwater Friends and Family festival as Jester King SPON Three Year Blend. Tart and sour fruit aroma. Hazy amber color with small sized white head. Heavy sour taste, barrel and wet wood. Thin body, average carbonation. 8/3/8/2/15/3.6
Tap at Cloudwater Unit 9, as Jester King SPON 2017 Methode Gueuze. Funky aroma, glue, gueuze, tarty grapes, fruit. Hazy golden to amber color with no head. My face was sucked in 'cause of the sourness, plenty of fruit too, white wine, grapes, funky, bit bretty, glue, very dry, bit acidic. Thin body, flat, heavy astringency. A killer! Those two should definitely not be under the same entry.
Slightly cloudy yellow with a fluffy white head. Aroma is lactic acid, olives, funk, and earthy. Taste is medium sour and light sweet.
On Tap @Koelschip, Copenhagen 21/04/19
Color amarillo espuma blanca, aromas acidos, notas frutales, sabor acido, cuerpo ligero.
2018 Spon 2 Three Year Blend. Unclear orange colored appearance with a white head. Aroma of sour funk, earthiness, mild barnyard, peaches, lightly toasted oak and a hint of vanilla. Similar flavor, tart, funky and lightly fruity with pleasant acidity, a dry palate and a smooth finish. Nice.
Purchased at the source, shared at bottleshare: pours clear gold with a small head. Aroma is basement, woody, funk and loads of it. Taste is funky rather than sour. Great complexity. Woody, yeast, funk. Great.
Keg at CloudWater and friend... Ligh golden amber.. Thin white lacing Tart earthy funk.. Big tart fruits...
1Mar2019 Oak, sour citrus fruits, unripe stone fruits. Clear gold, small, creamy, white head. Medium sour. More sour citrus fruits, acidic, lime and lemon, wet straw, grass, soft carbonation, medium bodied. Alright, not getting the hype. Keg at Cloudwater Friend Family Beer, Session 1, Manchester.
Keg at the bottle shop druid Street. A deep orange coloured pour with a lasting off white head. Aroma is nice authentic spicy funk, white grape, leather. Dusty books, tangy green apple. Flavour is composed of crisp tart green apple, pithy, authentic Lambic funk, low acid, bitter green fruit, gooseberry.. Palate is pithy, airy frothy carbonation, low acidic bile,. Bitter finish. Very good.
Pours hazy yellow with small head. Aroma: tons of citrus, a bit of accidity. Taste is citrussy, funky, dry on the finnish.
#4 thanks to Carlos! Pours hazy golden, small white head, decent lacing. Funky gueuzey aroma, horse blanket, bugs, wood, socks. Flavor has a hint of sweetness, medium funk. Medium body. enjoyable.
Tap at Besk - 2017 version 5.2% - very interesting ale - good sour and enough funk without going overboard - well balanced with low impact malt which gives slight sweetness to the sour - the rich complex palate with superb tartness wells up in the mouth and results in exceptional drinking pleasure.
Bottle shared by puddintane. Clear amber pour with a thick white head. Aroma of malt, funk, black pepper and sweet fruit. Malt and oak flavor with black pepper and apple accents before a super dry finish.
Taster, many thanks Werckmeister! Low white head that quickly fades into a lasting rim. Slightly unclear golden body. Fruity white wine notes, oak, aged italian hard cheese, green apple, light funk, tannines. Starts pleasantly fruity-sweet, builds up with some tart, vinous notes, then dries out with into a herbal and dry finish with clear wood notes. Oily light body with natural carbonation. Well done, clean and very refreshing take on a classic Gueuze, with resonant, woody and vinous notes throughout as well as a good journey from fruity sweetness to dry wooden notes. Beautifully executed.
Taster, many thanks to Werckmeister!
Golden-amber, hazy body, with a medium, fizzy, dissipating, off-white head.
Aroma of oak, cheese, citrus, green apples, earth, some pears, slight almond.
Tastes similar, with more unripe pears.
Medium, slick mouthfeel, with a lively carbonation.
Finishes quite dry, wooden, tart, musty, a bit funky, with green apple skin, pears, some almond, slight cheese.
Very nice. Lovely mix of funk, wood and tart fruits. Quite similar to a real Geuze, while maybe not as complex, but really refreshing stuff.
Score: 8 / 4 / 8 / 4 / 15
0,75l bottle at home. Spon #5. Blended on Feb 15th 2017. dark yellow rather hazy color, small white head. smells musty, funky, earthy, grapes, some wood, cheesy, light grapefruit. very nice smell. medium to full body, pearly carbonation, slick mouthfeel. tastes earthy, citric, cheesy, musty, wood, spices, peppery, grassy, herbal. finishes dry and medium sour with notes of citrus, earth and cheesy notes. very good one.
1 pt 9.4 fl oz bottle. As 2017 Spon 4 Three Year Blend Feb 13, 2017. Deep golden colour with reddish tinge, white foam head leaving alittle lacing and sour funky lemon zest aroma. Taste is sour, tart citric, lemon rind, pale malt & grain, funky. Slick mouthfeel, medium bodied, soft carbonation, sour tangy drying finish. Very drinkable.
On tap at OMBF 2018, Krakow. As Spon 2017, Three year blend. Pours cloudy orange with white head. Lots of funk, horseblanket, barnyard, wood, citric, medium+ sourness. Medium body and carbonation.
Shared 2017, 12.7 oz. green bottle, 3 year blend #2 poured to snifters showing a cloudy, orangey/gold color, with a fair layer of off white froth, and ribbons & spots of lacing. The nose was funk, cheese, esters as citrus & pit fruit, some vinous character, and subtle spiciness. Medium bodied, with modest effervescence, the taste was similar notes plus pronounced tartness & tanginess that lingered into a fairly dry & earthy finish. The cheesiness, clarity, and effervescence were somewhat in question, otherwise a fairly descent example of a very complex style.