We’re finally releasing bottles of Maenads Tripel. This is the first packaged batch of beer that uses the native wild yeast we isolated here that we affectionately call Maenads. I first noticed this yeast when doing spontaneous fermentation trials with a little coolship I’d bring here then ferment at home before we actually started construction. In summer 2015, when Taylor started doing a lot of lab work, we (mainly him) isolated dozens of cultures on plates, grew them all up, and eventually found the one I was looking for. We started small trials with the yeast in the tasting room (Maenads #1-#4) over the course of a few months.

I had always thought that I would avoid brewing any actual Belgian styles here at Orpheus, but #2 made me think this would be a great yeast for a Tripel, so #3 was a strong Tripel brewed with spelt. We liked that so much that we decided to ditch the “no real Belgian beers” rule, and made a version of Maenads Tripel for release last year. For a long time, Tripels have been a style that’s shown me what the art of brewing is really about – the depth, subtlety, and pleasure without any gimmicks is something that I always strive for, and drinking the great ones is always a good way to recenter my thoughts about beer. It’s very exciting to finally put our own twist, with our own yeast, into bottles for you. The bottles feature Sanithna Phansavanh‘s representation of the transformation of a Maenad into a tree.

-Jason Pellett
Brewmaster/president