Here is the lowdown on Odell Saboteur, a limited release due to arrive later this spring.

Odell brewer, Chad Yakobson, provided some details on the beer over the weekend. I have left my questions in an interview format this time around and if you have more questions (Saboteur or Odell-related), I can shoot them over to Chad (or you can ask him yourself on Twitter). For anyone interested in the use of Brettanomyces in their homebrews (or production brews), check out Chad’s brettanomyces research project.

1) Is this a Reserve Series-type beer?

Saboteur is another limited production, special release which will be available in Belgian style 750ml bottles, with limited draft possibly making it throughout our 8 state distribution area.

2) How many barrels did you guys brew? And how does that translate to 750 bottles? Any in kegs?

Approximately 100 barrels of Saboteur were brewed back in December, after getting ample time to ferment out with our house Saccharomyces strain we pitched a single species of Brettanomyces and moved it into previously used Woodcut #2 and #3 barrels. As of now it appears that 70% will be bottled with 30% being kegged.

3) When will it be released?

The most important thing is that the beer receives the proper aging time to allow ample Brettanomyces characteristics along with subtle barrel nuances. The projected release date currently is late April to early May.

4) The label mentions pineapple character. What contributes to it?

Brettanomyces is a unique genus of yeast that when used properly in secondary fermentations creates soft fruity esters. Depending on the strain there are other aromas produced also. With this beer we looked to minimize the stronger barnyard aromas and chose a strain which gave softer fruit character.

5) How long was the barrel aging time?

The barrel aging time on this particular beer will be around 3-4 months when all finished. In previous pilot batches we found the character we were looking for after the same period of time. As Saboteur it is not a sour beer, but a beer secondary fermented with only Brettanomyces it doesn’t require years of aging.

6) Where did the yeast come from?

The Brettanomyces strain we used is our ‘ Odell house strain’ as we have been using it in various barrel aged projects for the past year and find it to be the most suitable due to the softer characteristics it displays. The strain was cultured up in the lab here at Odell from a Belgium produced beer.

7) What strain(s) of Brett? Clausenii, lambicus …?

The Brettanomyces strain was unknown for awhile as we had cultured it out of a bottle. A few months back I sent it off to a friend along with a few other special Bretta strains I have, and he ran PCR identifying the strains for me. It turns out it is Brettanomyces bruxellensis.

8- Is the base beer an existing brand or a recipe specifically for this beer?

The base beer for Saboteur is a whole new brew which was created on our pilot system with the idea that it would have a secondary fermentation with Brettanomyces in barrels. It is a big dark brown malty complex beer with 8 different malts.

9) Good fresh or better to cellar for a bit?

This beer is going to taste good fresh as it will have already had time to develop its character in the barrels . . . but as this special release will be bottle conditioned with both Brettanomyces and Saccharomyces, this beer will age over time creating more complex flavors worth savoring.