Like a thoughtfully prepared dish, every beer follows a distinct recipe — add this yeast for this effect — and aim to keep every season of that six-pack exactly the same.

That’s what James Priest, owner of The Referend Bier Blendery in Pennington, thought that’s what all beers should work towards, too. That is, until he tried what he calls a “wild and living beer” — a spontaneously fermented beer, typically with a sour or tart flavor profile, which can trace its past back centuries before being propelled into modernity by the lambic brewers of Belgium's region of Pajottenland.

Working at Baxter Brewing Co. in Maine, Priest tried his first spontaneously fermented beer,to which no yeast cultures are added at any point in the process, in 2010. He was hooked on the beers, some of which align closely with acidic wines or dry, sparkling ciders.

“I had heard about these beers, but nothing prepared me for that,” he said. “I loved it and philosophically, it was appealing to me — this idea that it’s just open to the entirety of the air and whatever present which will do that long job of fermentation, not by human influence, and let nature do its thing.”

Five years later, Priest moved his muse into a space in Pennington. He began brewing beer and welcoming people into the tasting room in 2016. His was the first brewery dedicated to spontaneously brewed beers in New Jersey, and only the second in the country.

Today, there’s only one more in the United States, although there are a few dozen breweries which produce a few spontaneously fermented beers. According to Priest, it’s not even very common to find them in their home country of Belgium.

“If you really care about a style of beer that has fallen by the wayside, it might not seem immediately fiscally advantageous to make them, but for the health of the beer community it will always be a good thing,” Priest said.

It’s not exactly an easy go, however. The brewing process takes longer than a traditional brewing process, needing about six to 36 months to birth the final product. Bottle conditioning takes an additional six to 12 months, and of course, the beers are unpredictable.

No yeast cultures are added and the beers are fermented and matured in oak barrels, which allows the beer to breathe. The beer is unfiltered, unpasteurized and unsweetened to sustain its natural essence, resulting in an acidic and complex final product in a bottle that’s capable of decades of aging.

“Spontaneous fermentation eschews all ideas of industrial consistency where everything has to taste the same way every time,” Priest said of the impromptu process, which is much more common in wine and cider production.

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At The Referend Bier Blendery, four beers are available on cask and five are available on draft at any given time, however, there are about 30 varieties available in bottles, three to nine of which are only available to go. They periodically distribute to a handful of liquor stores, including the Super Buy-Rite at 222 Route 31 in Pennington.

All of the grains they have used in the past two years have been New Jersey grown and almost exclusively from Rabbit Hill Farms in Shiloh, Cumberland County.

About 98 percent of the fruit used in the beers has been grown in New Jersey, most from Fields Without Fences in Frenchtown and Phillips Farms in Milford.

Some of Referend's most popular beers have included the Tender Buttons Vanilla with raspberries and vanilla beans, which sold out the same day it was released about two weeks ago. Another popular variety is the Berliner Messe: Veni Sancte Spiritus, a blend of one- and two-year-old spontaneously fermented pale wheat ales aged in New Jersey charred oak apple brandy barrels. All beers range from $15-$34 for a 750 milliliter bottle.

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"I felt simultaneously drawn to the philosophy of what is required to make this beer and pay respect to the tradition and the process, and to have something new to say and do about it," Priest said. "There’s still so few people making these kinds of beers."

If you go

The Referend Bier Blendery

Where: 1595 Reed Rd #2, Pennington

Contact: 609-474-0443, thereferend.com

Jenna Intersimone has been covering food, drink and fun in the Garden State for the USA Today Network New Jersey since 2014, after becoming a blogger-turned-reporter following the creation of her award-winning travel blog. Born and raised throughout every corner of NJ, she’s a tried-and-true Jersey girl. Contact her at Jintersimone@Gannett.com or follow her @JIntersimone.