Mel Erwin, Assistant Production Manager/Brewer at Jester King, on Nocturn Chrysalis – our barrel-aged wild ale refermented with Marion Blackberries.

"I tried Nocturn Chrysalis on my very first visit out to Jester King in 2016 and it completely changed what I thought about farmhouse beers and fruited sours. I had only started getting into funky barrel aged and mixed culture beers and prior to that most sours just tasted like sugar and heartburn to me. Nocturn, however, wasn't overly sweet or cloying, the acidity was balanced and not puckering, and the combination of being both jammy yet subtle totally changed my mind. Blackberries are my favorite and as I kid we used to pick them wild in the woods at my grandparents' house.

Today my grandpa still grows tame berries in the back yard and even though he's never been much of a drinker, he gets very excited when I visit and the Nocturn gets busted out. Last time I visited, he was fascinated by the process of how the beer is made, how I chose the barrels, and learning about the farm in Oregon where we source the Marionberries that go into it. He waits until he thinks everyone has a little pour and then he tries to sneak a little extra into his glass. He's never really been much of a drinker so it's freaking adorable."

Nocturn Chrysalis is available onsite and online (https://bit.ly/3IW7fpk) starting Thursday, 3/2 at 2pm CT. We have about 500 bottles available. We bottled this year's batch in 500ml genies. Shipping/delivery illegal in Texas.

Artwork by Joshua Cockrell. Photo by Regan Vaca.