Xarel-10 Wine Beer 2020

Xarel-10 Wine Beer 2020, Cyclic Beer Farm

Cyclic Beer Farm

Packaged in 75 cl bottles so that everyone can satisfy their thirst, the beers from the Barcelona-based brewery Cyclic Beer Farm play between classicism and flights of inspiration, in a contrasting and creative way, in the Catalan style. Based on classic principles and a Belgian fermentation model, the two brewer-winemakers Joshua and Alberto play with ingredients, aromas, and macerations, between cereals, fruits, vegetables, and grape skins from Catalan grape varieties, to achieve flavors reminiscent of an unidentified drinkable object (OBNI). Whether they assert themselves on balance or on a certain controlled dissonance, these beers will never leave you indifferent and will reveal their full potential in the summer heat, served well chilled.
Xarel·10, with 6.7% alcohol, is part of the Cyclic Beer Farm 2020 Wine Ales series, which also includes Carignan, Garnatxa and Trepat. They are fermented with the skins of local grape varieties. All the grapes are organic and hand-picked before being pressed or macerated for winemaking. The resulting marc (skins and stems) is then added to already fermented and aged beers, selected for each type of grape variety. A maceration of one to six months follows to allow the residual sugar to complete its fermentation and the character of the grape variety to be communicated to the beer through infusion. Before bottling, brewers decide whether or not to add beer to achieve the desired flavors, based on acidity, the natural taste of the grape variety, tannins, complexity, and drinkability.
Brewers choose beers from three bases: their saison, their sour base (fermented from their blend of lactic acid bacteria and their blend of indigenous yeasts), and their "funky" base (indigenous yeasts and a cocktail of brettanomyces yeasts). After blending and bottling, the beers referment and refine for varying lengths of time.
Here, maceration is done on the skins and stems of the famous Catalan grape variety xarel·lo. The result is floral, moderately acidic, and delicately vinous.