We've now got our first beer moved across into our barrel store area in the brewery. It's a rye heavy Saison, that tastes pretty nice fresh (in fact I'm going to brew it again and package a small amount for comparison, and also perhaps sell a little!). I've split it between 2 x Bordeaux, 1 x Whisky and 1 x Bourbon barrels. Some barrels have been spiked with some wild yeast blends, some haven't, so hopefully this will give me some decent variation when I come to blend.

I'll be brewing some other Saisons, and I'll muck about with grist proportions of wheat, spelt, rye and oats and then age some more, hoping to build some different characters down the line.

So far so good (apart from one leaky sherry barrel!)

Alice - Bordeaux Chateau Teyssier - Currently unspiked
Bob - Bordeaux Chateau Teyssier - Spiked with a Flanders Lambic blend of Sherry Flor, Lacto, Brett and Pediococcus
Carol - Bordeaux Chateau Teyssier - Spiked with a Belgian sourced Brett strain
Daniel - Sanderson (Diageo) Whisky Barrel - Currently unspiked
Eve - Sanderson (Diageo) Whisky Barrel - Spiked with an American sourced Brett strain
Faith - Penderyn ex Sherry Whisky Barrel - Currently unspiked
Grace - Wild Turkey (Campari) Bourbon Barrel - Spiked with an American sourced Brett strain and Lactobacillus

Next step is to isolate some wild yeast from some hedgerow fruit come the spring - looking forward to getting my microbiologist hat back on - it's been a while!