Bottle release and foeder at Little Fish Brewing

At noon on Saturday, October 24, Little Fish Brewing Company will release the first bottles from its barrel-aging program. It’s accurate to say that anticipation is high for this event at the Athens, Ohio brewery, which just opened this past July.

Bottles of three funky, soured ales will be available exclusively at the brewery. On the bill are wine-barrel-aged versions of Saison du Poisson, Woodthrush, and Reinheitsgewhat!?.

Visitors that day will also have the opportunity to view the brand new 30-barrel (930 gallons) foeder, which will be the basis of the brewery’s upcoming solara program for producing a signature Flanders-style sour red ale.

Brewer & co-owner Sean White says much is happening at the brewery and that barrel-aged bottle releases and the foeder programs are examples of what you can expect to be the brewery’s focus in the future.

Special bottle-release brews for October 24

Barrel-aged Saison du Poisson

This was the first beer brewed at Little Fish. It began as a saison-style beer. Of note, its grain bill is made up of organic malts, including Ohio-grown spelt. This lightly hazy, pale farmhouse ale has plenty of yeast characteristics of tropical fruit, bread dough, and pepper. (5% ABV). It was aged for two months with wild yeasts in oak barrels, which had previously held a Chardonnay wine, giving the beer a tartness and a bit of funk. It should continue to develop with bottle age for up to two years.

Barrel-aged Woodthrush

Standard Woodthrush is an amber, rustic bier-de-garde- style ale brewed with lemon peel, coriander, and grains of paradise (6.1% ABV). Expect the aging in a red wine barrel to add a touch of sourness and funk. Will continue to develop in the bottle.

Barrel-aged Reinheitsgewhat!?

The base Reinheitsgewhat!? beer is described as a sour, hopless wheat ale flavored with citrus zest, rose hips, and chamomile (3.8% ABV). The wine-barrel-aging should add to the complexity.

The three barrel-aged releases will be sold in 750 ml bottles at a cost of $15 each. Sales will be limited to four bottles of each for a total of one 12-bottle case per person per day. During bottle releases, the brewery hopes to have all the special beers also available on tap.

Solara system at Little Fish will be first in area

The new foeder, which is essentially a large wooden tank, is constructed of American white oak that has been given a light toast on the inside. It’s a thing of beauty sitting by the entrance to the brewery’s tasting room area.

But before the sour ale solara program can begin, the foeder must first be prepared for such use, and this takes time.

Last, it was filled with water to swell the wood and prepare it for beer-aging use. Later this week or next, the water will be drained and the foeder will be filled with a freshly brewed beer English-style Old Ale, which is currently completing fermentation.

During this aging time, the Old Ale will extract much of the fresh oak flavors from the wood. Sean chose the Old Ale-style as the first beer to put in the foeder because it is a sturdy beer that can handle the oak. Special wild yeasts and the aging process will combine to produce the wine-like flavors that are the marker of an Old Ale.

At the end of its aging period, likely around June 2016, all the Old Ale will be pulled from the tank and be bottled and kegged.

The second batch of beer to fill the foeder will be a Flanders-style red ale. That beer will be allowed to age until its sourness reaches the optimum degree desired by the brewer. Brewer White says he wants a complex, malty beer that is sour, but not tending toward the vinegar-like taste of some Flanders sours.

When he deems it ready, he will pull out around 20 barrels for bottling, and refill the foeder with more fresh red ale. The 10 barrels of beer remaining in the tank is left to start souring the new beer.  Over time, this process will be repeated again and again, and the foeder will live its life producing sour red ale.

Little Fish a great addition to Athens scene

Little Fish Brewing Company is on the western side of town and is open most afternoons and evenings. Parking is available in their spacious lot. A little while back, Brilliant Stream posted an article about this new brewery that you can read at this link.

In addition to sour beers, the brewery offers a range of popular styles, such as IPAs, stouts, and lager. They also produce their own sodas.

Sample-size glasses are $2 each. Happy Hour drafts are offered at $3 on Tuesdays through Thursdays. Growler fill discounts are given each Friday.

Additional Information

Little Fish Brewing website
8675 Armitage Rd
Athens, Ohio

Call ahead for brewery tour information.