We couldn’t be happier and more excited to introduce Jester King Part & Parcel — the first beer in modern history brewed with 100% Texas grown and malted grain. For four years now, Blacklands Malt in Leander, Texas has been on a mission to create the first Texas grown and malted barley. That mission, led by Brandon Ade of Blacklands, became a reality back in October when he delivered us a dark Munich malt called “Endeavor” made from 100% two-row winter barley. The malt was grown near Brownfield, Texas, close to Lubbock. We were honored Brandon entrusted us with making a beer from this historic malt.
Part & Parcel, made from just well water, Texas barley, hops, yeast, and bacteria, is a great example of our philosophy on farmhouse ales. In this case, the land told us what beer to make, not the other way around. We didn’t set out to create a specific flavor/aroma profile. Rather, we took what was available to us from our surroundings, which then determined how the beer tasted and smelled. We didn’t “master” the beer by bending nature to our will. We took what nature gave us and presented it as straightforwardly as we could.
Specifically, the barley from Brownfield was rich in protein, which develops color and flavor more easily in the kiln. According to Brandon, high protein grain is best used to make darker malts because they can develop rich melanoidin compounds and phenolics (or the “yummy stuff”, as Brandon puts it). So again, the character of the grain helped determine the type of beer we made, not the other way around. We think this embodies farmhouse brewing and was befitting the first ever Texas grown malt.
The label for Part & Parcel was created by our in-house artist Josh Cockrell. The artwork is literally an aerial view of Brownfield, Texas (where the malt came from) depicted in water color. Here’s a photo of Josh creating the artwork for Part & Parcel:
Part & Parcel was brewed on October 3rd, 2016 with Hill Country well water, 100% Endeavor malt from Blacklands, Perle hops, and our mixed culture of brewers yeast and native yeast and bacteria. We think it’s the first single malt and single hop (or “SMASH” beer) we’ve made. It’s 5.5% alcohol by volume, 29 IBU, 3.7 pH, and has a finishing gravity of 1.007. It was packaged on November 21st, 2016 and is unfiltered, unpasteurized, and 100% naturally conditioned.
Part & Parcel will be released at Jester King on Friday, March 10th at 4pm. Brandon Ade from Blacklands will be at Jester King at 1pm on Saturday, March 11th during the release weekend. Please come out and meet him! It will be available by the glass and in bottles to go (750ml/$14). Aside from special events, Part & Parcel will not be available outside our tasting room.
As we wrote back in October, we want to thank Brandon Ade of Blacklands Malt very, very much for all his hard work and persistence. This accomplishment of his has been a true labor of love, and he has made a major leap forward as far as revitalizing a dormant barley growing industry in Texas. We consider Brandon to be a true pioneer, and we’re very grateful he’s allowed us to work with him along the way.
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