The Key and The Kite from Portland’s Ex Novo is named after Ben Franklin’s famous experiment. The one where he discovered electricity, right?

Wrong! Ben Franklin didn’t discover diddly from that experiment!

People have been toying with electricity since looong before our favorite Founding Father was around. In fact, there’s serious debate about whether his story is true at all!

Basically, our collective childhood was all a lie. But hey, our guy Ben wasn’t any kind of failure — though he didn’t discover electricity, he did find a way to bottle it up! And so did Ex Novo!

Ben used what’s called a Leyden jar, and the Oregon Beer Awards gold medalists at Ex Novo use today’s stonefruit-charged Barrel-Aged Wild Fruit Beer.

The brewers employ a Saison base to harness the raw flavor power of Riesling grapes locally sourced from the Columbia River Gorge. Then, they aged the energetic tart in oak barrels for 7 months before bottle conditioning for another 5 months!

In the end, they came out with an 8.2% ABV supercharged smacker of a Wild Ale with palate-shocking sourness!

Ripened apricots and a touch of Brett funk on the nose, sliced peaches and Moscato white wine with hints of oaky spice on the palate — every sip of The Key & The Kite is a jolt of refreshingly sweet n’ tangy fruit juice. Meanwhile, the finish comes through dry, showcasing the excellent balance of tart and funk.

Ex Novo is known across the Pacific Northwest for their wide range of potent palate-quenchers like The Key & The Kite. They’ve even earned the praise of NW Travel Magazine, who say the brewery stands out in “a class all their own!”

You won’t see Ex Novo anywhere off the West Coast though. So grab a bottle of today’s electrifying Wild Ale and you actually CAN say that you’ve discovered something! 

This beer is too new for ratings!

Cellarable