Chardonnay French Oak Melange A Trois Brewed by Nebraska Brewing - Papillion, Nebraska

Nebraska Brewing's first beer in the Reserve Series, Melange A Trois begins with a wonderfully big Strong Belgian-Style Blonde Ale and moves into the extraordinary category through an additional 6 month French Oak Chardonnay Wine Barrel maturation. The essense of Chardonnay permeates while a subtle sweetness remains from the Ale itself. Oak tannins combine to create a fascinating mesh of dry, sweet, and wine-like character.
     

    
Beer Review by Beer Advocate
Beer Review by Beer Advocate
Appearance: Pours out a crystal clear, yellow-hued body with a foaming, tall, white head.

Smell: The chardonnay wine barrel treatment is simply bulging in the aroma, ahead of the lightly sweet-scented golden barley and hint of finely fragrant herbs and flowers giving a quality of hand-crafted artisan soaps, the kind people keep in an ornate bowl in the bathroom, are in small shapes, and you're not allowed to use.

Taste: A wonderful blend of sweet, soft as cream barley and a great chardonnay with a gentle oakiness. Floral accents, a hint of citric lemon vanilla creme, and some perfumy touches. A little, bright 'pop' of acidity. Light spiciness and some more oak showing on the wine spritzed finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Highly carbonated, very easy and breezy along the tongue.

Overall: The chardonnay character is pairing perfectly with the strong golden ale with just the right amount of carbonation. Hardly any showing of the supposed 10% alcohol. It's outstanding all around. I know it's early still, but can I go ahead and declare my favorite new beer of the year?

     
Nebraska Brewing Brewers
Paul Kavulak and Tyson Arp round out the brewing lineup and have come together to build a broad beer portfolio complete with Brewer's Choice specials that will keep you coming back for more. As brewers go, they tend to be incredibly passionate about their craft. Nebraska Brewing Company is fortunate to have two brewers with the fire burning in their souls.
 
    
        
Paul has been brewing since 1992, after he and one of his buddies had a discussion on brewing beer at home. Paul began a journey that would span more than a decade and expose him to the incredible world of diversity, tastes, and other individuals that enjoyed this art as much as he did. Over the course of time, Paul has won a number of awards at the amateur level and even had one of his recipes on tap at a local brewpub. Paul is a volunteer beer judge whenever the opportunity presents itself.

Tyson has what some call a brewing affliction. He drove his hobby so hard that it went from kitchen stovetop to brewhouse in zero to 60 fashion. Incrediby detailed, he possesses an invaluable knack for solving the most difficult brewing problems. It really does an injustice to Tyson to say that he's the junior guy in the group, so let's just say that he's an awesome member of a tremendous brewing team. (anything else would go to his head and our brewhouse door isn't that big)

Paul and Tyson welcome the opportunity to discuss their beer passions with others who share an appreciation for everything that craft beer has to offer. If you've got a comment or suggestion, don't hold back - they'd love to hear from you!