Part of their Heritage series, Von Ebert releases Alma and The Quality of Silence in bottles and on draft.

Tomorrow, August 28th, Von Ebert Brewing invites you to indulge in two new beers from their Heritage bottled beer program. Named Alma and The Quality of Silence, these two beers represent another step forward for this award-winning, independently owned brewery. 

image courtesy Von Ebert Brewing

For head brewer Sean Burke, of Von Ebert’s Glendoveer location, Alma starts with peaches. 

I was looking for high quality, organic peaches to use in the beer… My internet searching led me to Alma Gaeta from Peachwood Orchard in Hood River, Oregon. During my discussions with her, I explained I was looking for a blend of peach varieties. I wanted one that had a high level of classic ‘peach flavor’ and another that was more acid forward. In the end, she helped us settle on three different varieties.

Aged in the traditional foeder-style, Burke starts Alma’s journey not in oak barrels but first, as a Farmhouse Ale in stainless steel fermenters. Early in the morning starting under modified wind malt, called Gateway, Venora (a localized version of Vienne malt), plus Einkorn and Emmer Faro, Alma takes a long soak. Ready for a rinse,  they transfer the wort into the next boil kettle,  where joined by Styrian Hops. Later on, once it has soaked long enough, the beer is transferred and fermented in a stainless steel vessel, where it rests until the next phase of fermentation. 

Ready for the next leg of its journey, they deposit Alma into one of four large Oak foeders, where it ferments away with the help of a wild yeast called brettanomyces. 

That foeder was one of four built for Von Ebert by Foeder Crafters of America in St. Louis, Missouri, and has been designated by the Von Ebert team to only contain brettanomyces and a “clean” base to feed it with. No lactic acid bacteria touches the foeder. For this beer, the Von Ebert team chose a number of different brett strains and brett blends to pair with the base farmhouse ale.

Before long the beer is deemed “stable” (based on its sugar content and desired flavors), and (a portion is) transferred, this time in California Zinfandel barrels that were used to make Gin. There, aging further along, the Alma continues its travels, fermenting with the Gin and Zinfandel soaked staves to keep it company. On the last part of its journey, the beer returns to steel fermenters and accompanied by 1,000 pounds of peaches.

Finally deemed ready, when all the fruit has fermented out, they package the beer in bottles with a moderate amount of carbonation, which avoids causing the beer to be “sharp or lose the subtle nuances from all the previous steps”. 

But the beer still needed a name and well. 

“After my conversations with Alma, it seemed only natural to name the beer after her,” Burke mentioned. “Her passion for what she does and her story are inspiring to me as a craftsperson.”

At 6% ABV, Alma is a remarkable beer with notes of stone fruit, accompanied by notes of botanical and funk. 

image courtesy Von Ebert Brewing

A blend of a “single puncheon” beer and one of Von Ebert’s beers fermented in open-top foeders, The Quality of Silence, celebrates the area's bounty of Rainier Cherries. 

Starting with a base beer, comprising of European pilsner malt and North American, un-malted white what; The Quality of Silence ferments away, in stainless steel fermenters, along with a house farmhouse ale string. Eventually moved into a puncheon, the beer received a lively wake up from a mixed-culture yeast blend. 

For the mixed-culture, the Von Ebert brewing team propped up the brett blend that was used in the making of Bouquet Blanc earlier this year, and also cultured microflora off Glenora grapes from the backyard of head brewer, Sean Burke.

For the other half of this unique, blended ale, the brewery took two different foeder-aged beers, paired with a “clean” Saison (aged in stainless steel fermenters). Combined, they rested the beer in an open-top (or removable top) foeder, before the brewery crew began the arduous process of de-pitting 350 pounds of Rainier cherries from Evans Fruit Company. 

Rainier cherries aren’t a very flavor forward cherry, but have a nice acid to sugar ratio.

As part of the macerating, the crew took some 28 pounds of pits and put them in a foeder to add additional flavor. 

Recalling the next steps, head brewer Sean Burke recalls a gathering of the brewing staff. 

“The goal was to get all the brewers familiar with what we had in the oak, but also to try to create a few blends that we could use in the future. One of the advantages to using more people than just our Glendoveer brewing staff  for the blending process is that we get a broader palate spectrum and therefore, more complex blends to work with.”

Through this exercise, a majority of the brewery came upon a blend that eventually developed into The Quality of Silence. The blend of puncheon beer with the open-top fermented beer, reduced the notes or Rainier cherries, creating a beer that is dynamic and interesting. 

Blended, packaged, and further conditioned, the beer wasn’t ready until the brewery gave it a name. Again, here’s Burke with his thoughts. 

“The name comes from a piece I was listening to where astronomers were talking about the different types of silence in the universe and how they pertain to whether there may or may not be other life forms out there… They concluded that if there aren’t, the fate of the universe could be in the hands of humanity. It’s a thought provoking notion.”

At 5.9%, The Quality of Silence will inspire thoughts of old fashioned cocktails, crushed almonds, with just a whisper of cherry. 

Look for Alma and The Quality of Silence to be on sale on and on draft, at both Von Ebert locations in Portland’s Glendoveer and Pearl District neighborhoods.

For more information on this and other beers from Von Ebert, visit http://www.vonebertbrewing.com. Von Ebert Brewing's two locations are at 131 NW 13th Avenue in Portland's Pearl District and 14021 NE Glisan Street in the Glendoveer neighborhood.

About Von Ebert Brewing

Von Ebert Brewing sits at the crossroads where storied traditions meet bold new ideas in brewing. Independently owned and operated, Portland, OR, based Von Ebert produces award-winning beers in a variety of styles. In addition to modern IPAs and crisp lagers, the oak-aged, bottle-conditioned heritage beer program sets the brewery apart. All of the beers pair perfectly with the elevated American pub cuisine served at both brewpub locations. For more information, please visit www.vonebertbrewing.com.