Beer fans learn Petrus sour beer blending

A highlight of the recent Beer Blogger & Writers Conference in Tampa was a Petrus sour beer blending activity led by Albert DeBrabandere and Yves Benoit. It was a preview of an event they are now repeating around the country.

Albert and Yves are the owner and head brewer, respectively, of Brouwerij De Brabandere in Bavikhove, Belgium. The brewery produces the tasty Petrus line of Flemish sour beers, among others.

The two Belgians are off on a tour of America promoting the fairly novel concept of blending beers to produce uniquely different flavor combinations. Throughout July, the Petrus Sour Tour is visiting  cities from coast-to-coast educating Americans on the blending technique.

The Petrus blending concept is explained in the video below.

While Petrus make markets only three distinctly flavored beers in the U.S., the brewery understands that an infinite number of flavor permutations are possible by mixing them. They know that every person tastes things slightly differently and may prefer different flavor tilts and twists.

The Petrus approach to blending is pretty straightforward, yet magical. You take one bottle each of their three sour beers: Aged Pale, Aged Red, and Oud Bruin. Open them. Get a glass. Experiment by pouring small amounts of two or three of the beers in the glass. Sample. Vary the ratio/vary the beers. Sample again.

Petrus Aged Pale is a 100% foeder beer, aged over 24 months in 220 HL oak foeders (large wooden barrels), and also forms the base of the Flemish red-brown Petrus Oud Bruin and the sweet and sour Petrus Aged Red.

You will be amazed with the tastes you can create.

Petrus Beer Availability

To help sour beer lovers initiate their quest for the perfect blend, the brewery has developed a special Sour Power mixed 6-pack. It contains three Aged Pales, one Aged Red, one Oud Bruin, and one pre-mixed 50/50, which is 50% Aged Pale and 50% Aged Red. The Sour Power 6-pack is available through distributors that represent Global Beer Network, the U.S. importer of Petrus beers.

In West Virginia, Petrus beer is distributed by Atomic Distributing of Huntington. They sell the Petrus Sour Power 6-pack and the individual component beers in Charleston, Huntington, Parkersburg, Beckley, Lewisburg, Morgantown, and the surrounding areas. Jeff McKay’s Bonded by Bottles and the Drug Emporium chain are but two of the many retailers that offer the line.

Also distributed in WV are Brouwerij De Brabandere’s excellent Wittekerke wheat beer line, including a Witbeer and the tart Wittekerke Wild.

A fun on-premise promotion

A beer blending activity would make a great bar pastime for restaurants or craft beer specialty bars. Offering a specially-priced set of three Petrus beers would provide plenty of beer for a couple of folks to experiment with and enjoy.

At the 2016 Beer Bloggers Conference, it was a very popular activity. Even though this group is quite experienced in craft beer, everyone enjoyed the blending exercise. A blending event should work well just about anywhere.

Links

The De Brabandere Sour Beer Story