Central Standard Stage 5 Port Barrel Aged Sour Ale

Stage 5 – Port Barrel Aged Wild Ale – 7.2%
It’s no secret that CSB loves bluegrass, banjos, art, and beer. This beer connects all of those things. The journey began about 24 months ago when we journeyed down to Wheat State Winery in Winfield, KS on a mission to pick up some freshly emptied Port Wine barrels. Winfield also happens to be home of the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival, and home-town of our Head Brewer Ian Crane. We trucked the barrels back to the Funkhouse, where we filled them with an Oud Bruin/Flanders Brown-style ale and tucked them in for a long nap. When artist Heidi Geist came to CSB to design a label in February this year on her 48 state tour, we decided to sample the beer from those port barrels. It didn’t have a name at that point, but the sampling proved it was ready for one. The bluegrass connection was confirmed that night when The Dewayn Brothers and Old Sound played at CSB. The name “Stage 5” comes from the iconic campground stage at the Walnut Valley Bluegrass Festival, and the art that Heidi designed features hands playing a banjo. The finished beer showcases rich amber malts with grippy oak tannins, port wine character, and subtle flavors of cherry cola, caramelized sugar, and dried figs.