CASTLE ROCK, CO— Rockyard Brewing brings remnants of a medal-winning beer to life with their newly released Cherry Kriek-style sour ale, The Gondolier, now available in 22 oz. bombers in select locations on the Front Range.
Let The Gondolier bring a balance of sour and sweetness to your palate as it propels you through the familiar tastes of a golden sour base ale aged in cabernet wine barrels with tart red cherries.
Aged for 14 months in the same barrels as Rockyard’s 2017 GABF® Gold Medal winning Plum Creek Sour, The Gondolier is a bright, crisp, easy-drinking sour which finishes slightly sweet and pours with an alluring pinkish hue. The base was brewed with a mix of European pilsner and wheat malts with a touch of rolled oats and raw wheat. After primary fermentation with a saison yeast, it was transferred into cabernet wine barrels and topped off with nearly a pound of cherries per gallon of beer in each barrel.
“Our favorite attribute of the Gondolier is that even after 14 months aging on souring bacteria, it's not a pucker bomb,”says Rockyard Head Brewer Greg Fetzer. “We’d go so far as to say it’s a starter sour.”
The Gondolier label was designed by Denver artist Drew Button of D. Button Ink. It portrays a Venetian gondolier singing music notes resembling cherries. The character was created in reference to a time when Cherry Creek ran through Denver with the infrastructure designed to be navigable by gondola. Rockyard’s Artist, Drew Button put it best: “These boaters have distinct songs they sing as they cruise the canals to announce themselves to other boaters gliding down the narrow waterways. I have feeling this beer will leave you singing!”
The Gondolier is part of Rockyard’s Barrel Aged Series and will be available in 22 oz. bombers at select retail locations on the Front Range while supplies last..
For more information about The Gondolier and or Rockyard Brewing, contact Emily Hutto at coop@radcraftbeer.com.
ABOUT ROCKYARD BREWING
Rockyard is the longest running brewpub in Douglas County, founded in 1999 by four Colorado-born siblings. Rockyard’s beers have won medals at many prestigious beer competitions including the Great American Beer Festival®, World Beer Cup® and the Colorado State Fair. Rockyard’s beer can be found in many retail locations and a handful of craft-centric bars and restaurants throughout Colorado’s Front Range. Find the brewery online at rockyard.com.