The Stone Raft Blends

Differentiation: golden ale with a rotating blend of stone fruit, replete with their stones

Blend No.: 1 (“2018”)

Bottling Date: january 18, 2019

Packaging: 75cl & 1.5L
Alcohol by Volume: 7.1%
Serving: 42-50F
Cellaring potential: 5-15 years

Ingredients: air, water, pilsner malt, raw wheat, 2009 sterling hops, 2010 crystal hops, 2012 cascade hops, peaches, cherries, plums

Élevage: spontaneously fermented in neutral oak puncheons across a variety of ages and gravities (see: Writing Degree Zero Blend One), refermented with, chronologically: PA montmorency cherries, NJ white peaches, NJ yellow peaches, NJ methley plums, NJ sentry peaches, all together in stainless steel, then racked into two port barrels before back to stainless for bottling
Fruit: south NJ sentry peaches, white peaches, yellow peaches, PA montmorency cherries, and NJ methley plums

Dosage: NJ cranberry honey
Further Reading: a jangada de pedra (Saramago)

Blend No.: 2 (“2019”)

Bottling Date: january 7, 2020

Packaging: 75cl
Alcohol by Volume: 7.0%
Serving: 45-58F  
Cellaring potential: 5-15 years

Ingredients: air, water, pilsner malt, raw wheat, 2009 sterling hops, 2012 cascade hops, cherries, nectarines, plums

Élevage: spontaneously fermented in french oak red wine puncheons, refermented with ulster cherries, sunglo nectarines, and shiro plums in stainless steel for four months before racking. an average of 26 months at bottling.
Fruit: south NJ ulster (sweet) cherries, sunglo nectarines, and north NJ shiro plums

Dosage: NJ cranberry honey
Further Reading: a jangada de pedra (Saramago)

Blend No.: 3 (“2020”)

Bottling Date: march 6 & 7, 2021

Packaging: 75cl & 1.5L
Alcohol by Volume: 6.9%
Serving: 45-58F  
Cellaring potential: 5-15 years

Ingredients: air, water, pilsner malt, raw wheat, 2009 sterling hops, 2012 cascade hops, NJ montmorency cherries, NJ shiro plums, misc. apricots

Élevage: one strand brewed in the fall of 2016, spontaneously fermented in french oak chardonnay puncheons for 40 months, racked to stainless with apricots and plums for a brief one month maceration before returning to oak. another strand brewed february 2020, spontaneously fermented in neutral oak puncheon and racked onto cherries in separate puncheon after five months, with a seven month maceration thereafter. the two strands were blended together into stainless steel for bottling, roughly one and four years old.
Fruit: south jersey montmorency cherries and apricots, north jersey shiro plums

Dosage: NJ blueberry honey
Further Reading: a jangada de pedra (Saramago)