We Are But Slaves to Yeast

There is a whole lot happening and we couldn’t possibly mention it all here right now. That said, there are a few important things we need to update you on.

First off, our Saison bottle release will be slightly delayed. Don’t worry, we’re still going to party like mad on Friday with our newly-kegged Saison, but the bottles will be a couple weeks yet. Why? Well, the easy answer is because we care. Lab tests show that the carbonation is a little on the low side right now, so we’re going to give the yeast a bit more time in the bottle to do its thing. The good news is the yeast is definitely doing it thing – when we crack a bottle open we can hear an audible hiss and there a clear tingle on the tongue when imbibed (oh, and it tastes friggin’ fantastic!). However, we are hoping for a bit more of a head on the beer when poured and simply refuse to let the beer go to market until we, as beer geeks, are happy with it, ourselves.

“What’s up with that?” you may be asking. We can blame a bunch of factors, but ultimately the yeast gets to do what it does on its own timeline. We would have liked some warmer temperatures to make the yeast happier and more willing to work its magic, but it’s been cooler than anticipated and the yeast is acting like me when it’s chilly out – its moving slower, waiting for warmer days before going out and getting on with the work of producing carbonation & alcohol. Really though, there isn’t anything to blame – this is real beer, living and unpasteurized, made the way Saisons have been made from the get-go. Some Belgian brewers keep their beer in the bottle for up to 45 days waiting for the carbonation to pop. We had allotted 21 days, so worst case scenario is that the beer needs another three weeks (we don’t think it’ll take that long, by the way). We’re certain your patience will have been worth it. When Odonata Saison does hit the shelves in May, we’re confident that it will be one of the most ultra-superior, made with wheat, authentic Saisons you’ve had (just read that from our awesome label).

The Parties!

Starting Friday April 30th we’re going to start hitting regional bars & cafes with our Saison (draft version only, for now). We’ve also got our new pint glasses in hand (pictures to come in the next couple of days), t-shirts & hoodies. For the party on the 30th in East Sacramento there will also be food specials, outdoor seating and some pretty killer prices for the pints of Saison. It’s truly going to be a party worth attending!

We’ll follow this up with parties along the way:
4/30 - East Sacramento
5/6 – South Sacramento
5/7 – Folsom
5/14 – Sacramento (Beer Festival at the Ball Park!)

Distribution

We have been asked quite a bit lately about our distribution plans. For right now they’re pretty simple: we are focusing all of our attention on Sacramento, the Foothills east of Sacramento and The Bay Area down to Santa Cruz. We’ll sell to shops along the way throughout Northern California, but that’s pretty much it until we have a place of our own and can support additional markets (like San Diego, Portland, etc.). If you live in areas outside of this distribution area, please know that we cannot legally ship beer to you, even if you pay extra. Sorry about that. We’ll let you know as we expand our distribution, we promise!

I think that’s about all for now. We still love and appreciate the support you all are showing in all of this. We’ve met some fantastic new friends and have valued time spent with those we’ve known for years. Your support for us as individuals & for Odonata Beer will be the only way we can succeed as a small brewery based in Sacramento. Thank you for telling your friends, your families, your coworkers, grocers & bottle shop owners about us. We’ve heard from so many people that have heard good things about us, most all because of your willingness to share what we’re doing. Thank you!

Speaking of passing the word… If you ever run into a store manager, restaurant or bar manager and you want to get them in touch with us, we have an easy catch-all email address: sale [at] odonatabeer [dot] com – we’d love to talk with them!
Cheers!

- Peter & Rick