How the Piney River Seventh Trumpet Came to Be

At the 5th Aleiversary we were able to share our first Imperial Stout with you–Seventh Trumpet. This isn’t just any stout; this stout has a story that you really need to know.

In late 2014, The Home Brewery in Ozark, MO contacted us regarding the annual Zymurgists of the Ozarks homebrew  competition. They asked is we would be willing to judge the winning beers of the competition and choose a favorite to brew with the winning homebrewer.  

Brian and I started out as home brewers, and we have great respect for some of the homebrewers that we know that brew great beers.  We agreed to participate.

The winter weather was not in our favor in 2015, but finally the “winter warmer” competition made its way to the BARn where we gathered in late February with our brewing staff to try beers and declare a #1. 

Michael Wells of Kansas City was the winner. Michael calls his homebrewing adventures Eye for an Eye, and let me tell you, if you’re ever offered a bottle of homebrew with one of these on the top, do not turn it down. 

 Michael’s winning brew was a Russian Imperial Stout called Seventh Trumpet, and the winning version was brewed with coffee beans and vanilla beans.  It was the unanimous winner amongst us and our staff trying all of the top finishing beers.  Not only is Michael a solid homebrewer, he’s a really nice guy, too.  And that’s a good thing because by the time Michael’s beer won the competition, we were deep into a excavating, concrete pouring and a construction project that consumed our life for most of 2015.  

Finally, after the holidays, after we had our new brew house up and going, but before we were wrapped up in 2016 beer events, we were able to bring Michael to the Farm for a Saturday in January. Michael met us at the tap room on Friday evening. We were lucky enough to share more of his delicious homebrews that evening and spend a little time chatting mostly about beer and family.  It was fun.  

 Saturday morning Brian and Michael met bright and early for a 15 bbl brew of his beer. Brian followed Michael’s recipe, scaling it up for our needs.  The plan was that if the beer turned out well,we would serve it at the Aleiversary. (So you already know how that part of the story ends.)  We tried our best to roll out the red carpet, and honestly, Michael volunteered to empty the mashtun. The brewed beer was sent to one of our 15 bbl tanks in the BARn brewery, and within 24 hours, it was doing this amazing and somewhat messy fermentation (luckily that slowed down after a few hours).  

Something like 200 fresh vanilla bean pods were split by our brewing staff after fermentation was complete. Then, Brick and Mortar Coffee in Springfield made us a special dark roast blend that we put on the beer for a short time.  Almost two months after Seventh Trumpet was brewed on the Piney River Farm, we kegged the beer to serve at the 5th Aleiversary. Where it turned out to be a big hit! 

There is a limited amount of Piney River’s Seventh Trumpet available at the BARn tap room.  We have pints, and we are filling Crowlers with the beer if you want to take some to go.  We were able to send a keg up to Michael to enjoy, too.  If you are joining us at Taps and Tastes at Boulevardia this year, we will be pouring up samples of Seventh Trumpet there, too.

Who knows if ther will be another Seventh Trumpet brewed at Piney River. We will definitely be adding an imperial stout to our lineup since we now have the tank space to give such a beer the time it needs.  A huge thanks to the Homebrewery for giving us the opportunity to meet Michel and brew his beer.  And an even bigger thanks to Michels for patiently waiting for us to brew the beer with him.  Michael’s goal is to win a homebrew competition in every state. There’s no doubt, Eye for an Eye is going to do that!   

While you have a chance, don’t miss out on the opportunity to enjoy Seventh Trumpet with us at the BARn before it’s gone. Cheers Michael, and cheers to all of you making homebrews!