The Somm Journal

24 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2018/2019 24 { THE SOMM JOURNAL } DECEMBER/JANUARY 2018/2019 ON A HOT AFTERNOON this fall, the first-ever Terroir Project event in Los Olivos, California, made history—albeit one that's already sort of happened in Belgium, where people have been mak - ing beer with grapes and other fruit for hundreds of years in the lambic style. That beer, though, wasn't quite like this. Organized by Firestone Walker Barrelworks, the Terroir Project chal - lenged a small group of some of the best breweries in the world to create their own version of a beer/wine hybrid while exploring the concept of terroir. (The hybrids technically classify as beer, as they had to contain 51% wort and 49% grape juice.) The Terroir Project rules also stipu - lated that all participating breweries use the same grain bill (65–75% Pilsner malt; 25-35% unmalted raw grain) and maturation period in barrel or amphora (9–12 months). Grapes, meanwhile, had to have been harvested within 100 miles from the brewery. "We left it open in terms of what yeast they wanted to use, but the idea was to take a basic broad stroke on the recipe and see how people interpret it," Firestone Walker Barrelworks Direc - tor Jeffers Richardson tells The SOMM Journal. "Next year everyone has to use the yeast on the skins of the grapes— only native yeast—so it'll be cool to see where that goes." Richardson, who Firestone Walker spokesperson Sean C. Weir named as "the man behind all of this," can trace the Terroir Project's origins back to a discussion he and Barrelworks Master Blender Jim Crooks had a few years back with Logan Plant, founder and CEO of the London-based brewery Beaver - town. Two years to the day after the chat, the Terroir Project's seven beer/ wine hybrids debuted this fall in Los Olivos at a Firestone vineyard: Thank- fully, they were all refreshing enough to temper the afternoon heat. In fact, when summarizing the character of these beer/wine hybrids, "refreshing" is perhaps the first adjec - tive to come to mind. The acidity, while immediately apparent, is seemingly less aggressive than that typically found in sour beers and comes across as more fruit-sour than barrel-sour. Complexities specific to grape variety and barrel regi - men then come into play: The common grapefruit and pineapple notes in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc were particu- larly apparent in Garage Project's Savoir Faire hybrid. Perhaps the amphorae used allowed the fruit to shine brightest. Regardless of the grape or barrel regimen used, potential was obvious in every example. Firestone Walker Bar - relworks, a brewery and beer program with its own roots in wine due to its as- sociation with Firestone Vineyards, won a gold medal in the experimental beer category at this year's Great American Beer Festival for its Biére de Champagne style beer, Feral Brut. Crooks feels it's only a matter of time before the hybrid becomes a style category all its own: "It's not wine, it's not beer, but it's beautiful," he says. SPECIAL S E SPE PE PE P EDI DITION PE A RECAP OF THE TERROIR PROJECT, A PIONEERING BEER-WINE HYBRID EVENT IN LOS OLIVOS, CALIFORNIA by Jessie Birschbach / photos by Jemma Wilson Back to the Future The Firestone Walker Barrelworks brass from left to right: Master Blender Jim Crooks; co-founder David Walker; Brewmaster Matt Brynildson; and Director Jeffers Richardson.

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