A brewery specialized only in Barrel-Aged Sour beers is not something prevalent in North America. Obviously they aren’t only producing one beer, so they often put some emphasis on certain hops, fruits, spices, flowers & other ingredients, but the base is always a sour ale that has been aged in barrels. This sort of focused work leads to products with layered complexity & delightful balance.
The History
Small Pony Barrel Works opened at the end of 2017 in Kanata, Ontario. The master brewer & blender Sean McVeigh wanted to launch an all sour brewery after experimenting with the process for a few months. His first public attempt was for a friendly competition & after finishing last, he went back home to do more research based on advice he received, in order to create a superior product. He eventually bought a barrel as a fermentation vessel & it completely changed the quality of what he was working on. This led him to pursue experimenting with the process in oak casks which then brought him to his idea for the brewery. When Small Pony Barrel Works opened, acidity in beers was just starting to escape its niche in Canada as opposed to the US where there were already a trend developing. This made Small Pony Barrel Works on the leading edge for making exclusively sour ales at the time. Nowadays, even if it’s still an exciting thing to have such a brewery opening nearby, it’s becoming progressively more common & since then a handful emerged in Canada.
The Brewery
The philosophy of Small Pony Barrel Works seems to rely on mastering the art of sour beers by focusing solely on this brewing process. Patience is also a key figure due to the long fermentation & maturing time required. The brewery possesses about 160 barrels that all previously contained red wine. They mostly come from Napa Valley in California and have been used on multiple occasions. This means they are considered neutral in terms of oak flavours and won’t deliver any tannins. They only serve as a fermenting vessel allowing for more depth & complexity as the wood breathes a little compared to stainless steel tanks, promoting micro-oxygenation. This reaction fosters a unique environment in every cask where the long maturation process creates beers with more harmony. For most of its existence, the brewery almost exclusively released their products in bottles. All of the ales are bottle-conditioned, this gives a natural effervescence generated by the yeast. Recently they started to do more casks in order to support the public demand in various pubs & restaurants.
The Beers
On their opening day, Small Pony Barrel Works released their first four brews consisting of:
- Orange Whisper, a blend of golden sour beers aged in oak barrels with Mosaic hops;
- They Go Up!, a golden sour beer aged in oak barrels with Montmorency Cherries;
- P.A. System, a golden sour beer aged in oak barrels with peaches & apricots;
- Something for Everyone, a blend of golden sour beers aged in oak barrels.
Since most of their beers have only been released once or twice & they are all pretty amazing I would say that all of them are rare & somewhat hard to find. My favourite ones so far have been One Year Wiser & Mares in a Jam. Although they don’t really have any limited series, they do have a Culture Club who have the privilege of exclusive bottles. The fee is about $200 CAD annually with multiple gifts throughout the year.
The Reference
More information @smallponybarrelworks.com
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