When The Referend Bier Blendery opened its doors in 2016, it was the first brewery dedicated to spontaneously fermented beers in New Jersey — and only the second in the nation. 

With a focus on locally-sourced ingredients, these Wild Ale innovators continue to put the “garden” in Garden State!

Though, with incredibly limited batch sizes and many beers you can only pick up at the blendery itself, even central New Jerseyans have to work to get a coveted sip. Fortunately, we pulled a few strings and got our hands on not one, but TWO extra special bottles for Tavour members! 

First up is Le mur Grand Cru (2019). Now, the vintage may only be a year old, but like so many of The Referend’s creations, this bottle is full of surprises. 

The base is a 40-month old Golden Ale, aged in oak puncheons to pick up whispers of woody vanilla and floral honey. The blenders then refermented the brew on local NJ blackberries and let it bottle condition for almost a year. 

Every tangy-tart sip brims with jammy berry notes, but let it linger on the tongue, and there’s a chance to discover depths of complexity. In addition to the underlying oak notes, there are some flavors of lemongrass and earthy funk. It’s like getting a taste of a country breeze in springtime, and it’s revitalizing. 

Then, there’s Un Chien Andalou (2016), which The Referend team started crafting their very first year running! All the time and dedication spent on this one is worth sharing: they started with a Golden Ale base brewed in October of 2016, dosing it with locally grown pilsner malt, raw wheat, and five-year-old oxidized whole Sterling Hops. After a five-hour boil and fifteen hours in the coolship, they spontaneously fermented the brew in 25-year-old Oloroso sherry barrels. 

And, that was just the beginning! They aged the brew in the Sherry barrels for 28 months, then blended it with NJ wildflower honey for bottle refermentation. The final product, Un Chien Andalou, was released just this year after eighteen months in the bottle. 

Through all its tangy and bright complexity, expect delectable notes of sherry, oak, clover, and florals. As @Cuan B. says, “Hands down the best U.S. Wild Ale I have had. Brilliant.” 

Normally, both of these beers are only available at The Referend’s Pennington, NJ blendery. The opportunity to add these bottles of excellence to your repertoire may not come along again. 

Holiday shopping is easy with Tavour! Just head over to Tavour.com/gifts to send a gift box or gift card to the craft beer lover in your life. Cheers to holiday beers!