Behind the Scenes: Bottling Le Printemps
Two weeks ago, we bottled our first beer for Hacienda—Le Printemps, our Spring seasonal saison brewed with raw Wisconsin honey and dry hopped with Huell Melon hops. Le Printemps is brewed as a reflection of the Spring season—snow melting, weather warming, green slowly returning. This rustic saison has a dry finish with notes of citrus, spice, melon, and honey.
This bottling day marked an important achievement for our team—for both Hacienda and Door County Brewing Co. Not only was this the first bottled beer under our Hacienda label, but this was also the first time we bottled a beer produced in Baileys Harbor (under either brand). Typically, our bottling and canning under Door County Brewing Co. is done under contract at Octopi Brewing.
We packaged Le Printemps by hand in 750 mL Champagne-style bottles for bottle conditioning, and these bottles are now resting in our brewery until they are fully carbonated, the flavors have fully developed, and they are ready for release. We are excited to start offering our small batch saisons and mixed fermentation sours in this format—as we feel the 750 mL size is perfect for special occasions and sharing these beers amongst friends and family.
We purchased a manual 6 head gravity filling machine to fill our 750 mL bottles, and it took 4-5 people around a half day to fill over 1000 bottles. If all goes well, we are expecting to release these beers in late March or early April. Be on the lookout for future announcements!