Our third Monolith beer launch was actually our second blend, and the process we used required more conditioning time before it was complete. Un Petit Peu is dry hopped, meaning we added hops to the beer after it was blended and conditioned in our blending tanks. This is our first dry-hopped beer from the Monolith, and we are already planning for more as we like the unique character from the additional hopping.
Un Petit Peu was blended from the original sets of mixed-ferment barrels, the same sets that we used to create Measure of Patience and Substantially Complete. As mentioned in prior columns we use a standard process for creating wort that is put into barrels for fermentation. We get unique variation due to the natural variance in character development barrel to barrel. We use aged, whole-leaf hops in the boil during wort production, giving our beers a very low bitterness and subtle aged-hop flavour (they can sometimes be perceived as tea-like).
For our first dry-hopped beer we elected to use two fairly uncommon French hops—Barbe Rouge and Mistral. These impart subtle red berry and floral notes to the beer. We made the blend knowing it would be dry-hopped, so the goal was a more balanced, light-acidity blend. This profile enhances the berry and floral notes we knew we could expect from these hops. We are very happy with the outcome.
You will likely notice the unique art on this bottle. It’s the first in our series of dry-hopped beers and each of these beers will feature a piece of the mural on the back of the Monolith. Each of our family of beers has a consistent theme or source of art. We will talk more about these themes, as well as the actual artists doing the work on our bottles in a future story.
The 2019 vintage of Un Petit Peu is available in both 375ml and 750ml bottles and will age for up to 10 years. It will be available at our brewery and restaurant, as well as select liquor stores across Alberta.
