“In Late 2016 we were asked by Jeffers and Jim from Firestone Walker Barrelworks to take part in a special project they had come up with, which was at it’s core to brew a Beer/Wine hybrid which pushed the boundaries of what beer and wine were. The plan, originally dubbed Grape and Grain Project, was for 7 breweries from around the world to brew a beer and wine hybrid with a strict set of criteria. The grist, percentage of grape juice, time in oak, and other parameters were to be kept the same and the grapes were to be sourced from a 100 mile radius from the brewery.At Harvest time in September 2017, we visited Forty Hall Vineyard in Enfield to assist with the harvest for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay Grapes. The yield was low in 2017, but we took what we could and drove a van to Davenport Vineyard, where Forty Hall vinifies their grapes.After the grapes were pressed, we took the skins and stems, put them through a de-stemmer, and took the skins, covered in their native yeast and bacteria back to Tempus, where they were added to a tank containing 700L of Pinot Juice pressed and collected from Chapel Down the previous day. With minimal sulfur added to the juice at the press, and a high concentration of wild year on the grape skins, fermentation kicked off fairly soon after, and within a few days was half way through fermenting.At this stage we brewed a wort of Pilsner Malt and Raw Wheat, hopped with aged Fuggles, also from Kent, and blended the wort, with the fermenting grape juice and left to ferment out. After a few weeks in stainless steel the hybrid was taken out of tank and put into 6 Pinot Noir Barrels...”
We're recruiting a volunteer and wellbeing coordinator at Forty Hall Vineyard - could it be you?!
Join us for a picnic, live music and a glass of wine in the vines. All for a good cause :)
