From the desk of Brewmaster Garrett Oliver, overlooking a crackling peat fire:
One of the world’s most storied beer styles, Porter fueled the American revolution, built the great breweries of England, brought poetry to the pens of Ireland, was re-fashioned in the kettles of the Baltics, and flowed improbably from barrels in the Caribbean. Though the travels of IPA are more famous, it can be argued that porter went even further, and wherever it went it, it tended to stay put, morphing itself to blend in with the local culture.
And in the heyday of porter, everywhere it went, its companions went too – Brettanomyces, “the British yeast”, to give it its characteristic flavor, and barrels to carry and age the beer. Though we tend to associate “Brett” with Belgium, the “Brettano” in Brettanomyces actually means “Britain”. And it was brett that gave old porters much of their allure, their earthy funk, their compelling fruitiness, their dry edge and faint hint of acidity. The modern age purged molds and bacteria from our cheeses, sourdough from our breads, and Brett from our beers, all in the name of “progress”. Brett went into hiding, but it never went away.
We’re very pleased to bring you Cloaking Device, a strong Brett-fermented porter aged nine months in French oak red wine barrels from our pals at the Larkmead Winery in California. It’s hand-bottled and then re-fermented in the bottle with Champagne yeast. Cloaking Device is dry on the palate, showing a complex cacao-like fruitiness, hints of vanilla and pineapple, a very slight edge of acidity and an underlying leathery forest-floor funk. We think it’s delicious, great with food, and conducive to dreams of adventure.