Side Project & Private Press Collaborate On Maple In The Wood

From Side Project:

When we finally opened our production facility in Maplewood in 2016, the very first guest we had visit us to brew a collaboration was Brad Clark. At that time, Brad was working for Jackie O’s and after meeting him in Denmark several years prior, we had become great friends. In 2016, we brewed a beautiful little sunset colored beer to age in French Oak to be later finished on Pluots and in March of 2018, we released our first collaboration with Brad, Pitter Patter.

Brad came back to town for that release, and while here, we brewed this release, Maple in the Wood – a Maple Bourbon and Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wheatwine. We used the flavor profiles and took inspiration from our respective Barleywines, but infused the recipes with copious amounts of malted white wheat. In the kettle, we added a large percentage of Vermont Maple Syrup. We then aged this Wheatwine in BLiS Maple Bourbon and E.H. Taylor Bourbon Barrels for 18 months before selecting a blend that showcased the barrels and the individual threads in a harmonious, cohesive way.

The result is a luxurious, round, rich, beer that lays the groundwork and structure for the barrels to rest. The maple leaves a nuanced hint of sweetness that melds with the notes of bourbon, caramel, toffee, and dark fruits from the blend of yeasts we used to ferment before allowing it to age and mature in oak to softness and balance. Although it’s a big beer – like most of our Barrel-Aged beers – the wheat lightens the experience and allows it to fall somewhere between our Längst and Anabasis on the palate.

This Saturday – February 1st, 2020 – Brad will be back in town to join us for this to-go release at both locations! Maple in the Wood will be released to-go at open at both locations and bottle allocations will be based on the number of people that join us to purchase bottles. As always, if you are here by opening, you will at least be guaranteed an allocation of this Barrel-Aged Wheatwine. Bottles will be $40 each and available to-go until sold out. We will also have bottles for on-site enjoyment at both locations to open and share with you!

We are honored to be the collaborator for the first Barrel-Aged release for Brad and his Private Press Brewing! If you’re unfamiliar with what Brad has been up to, please check him out here : http://www.privatepressbrewing.com or https://www.facebook.com/privatepressbrewing/ or on the socials at @privatepressbrewing! His club structure for these huge specialty beers is such an amazing idea and we wish him the best with the new venture!

This release also kicks off the events for our Stout Week – http://www.sideprojectbrewing.com/blog/stoutweek2020 – and we hope that you can join us for some or all of the week! As a note, The Brewery will only be open from noon until 4pm on February 1st, as we will be closing down early to welcome all of our brewing friends from around the world to our brewery in preparation for our Invitational Festival on Sunday! The Cellar, however, will be open regular hours and will have some IPAs from our friends at Trillium flowing for donation for Friends of Kids with Cancer!

Thank you for reading all of this and thank you very much for again supporting our tiny, niche brewery and for allowing us to meet wonderful people like Brad, to get together to see what our minds can brew up, and then allowing us to share the resulting beer with you.