(Hooksett, NH) – A nanobrewer graduates.

First things first, a new beer was recently released . . . an American Wild Ale called White Birch Oak Senex Torva Saison. Here is the label description: “With this batch we aged our Saison for an extended period of time on oak chips with a special brettanomyces strain. The result is spicy and tart, with mild fruit notes and a crisp dry wild finish. An ode to tradition, we salute all who till and toil to bring fruit from the earth.” 11.2% ABV in 750 ml bottles. Limited run of 200 bottles.

That is not the biggest news, however. Founder/Owner/Brewmaster, Bill Herlicka, reported on Facebook yesterday that his small operation is expanding: “We’re bringing in a new brewing system. It should allow us to brew approximately seven barrel batches of beer. We say approximately as until we run some beers through the kettle we won’t know how much grain and water it will hold. Some of our recipes call for a lot of grain! For those of you counting, we will be entering into brewpub territory for batch sizes.” The brewery has also brought in a small bottling line. The downside is that White Birch will be shutting down temporarily as Herlicka and his team work on the upgrades.

Finally, an interview with Herlicka appeared last week. Part I is embedded below and Part II can be found here.