“Barrel Aged Sours are here! Two years in the making, this range of sours have been sitting in a variety of oak barrels, quietly evolving and developing their own unique characters and personalities. It is been an absolute pleasure to sample and observe how each barrel (not just beer) changes over time.”
Glassware: Stemmed tulip.
Appearance: Gorgeous candy apple red with burgundy highlights. It strikes up a somewhat purple-ish head which retains quite well. Looks the real deal!
Aroma: Smells fantastic! Oodles of tart cherry, ribena, oak tannins, cheesy funk, sherbet and vanilla leading out. Really well tempered sour acidity there; getting that trademark lemon/lime juice cutting right down the middle. Also getting the funky lemon curd note as it warms. Impressive!
Flavour: We brace for a big lip puckering sourness but it’s really nice and tidy. Mild lacto acidity flows in to the funky, cheesy curd notes early in the mid. All the while that cherry flavour just builds and builds, taking on some of the vinous oak tannin as it rolls in to the fruity, slightly dry and tart finish. Good length on display as well.
Mouthfeel: It has a lovely fullness to it. Kind of a spritzy carbonation with little pucker. Mineraly texture.
Overall: Well this absolutely blows the golden sour out of the water. It just strikes all the right chords – tart, funky, fruity, sour and presents the perfect amount of barrel complexity. Kudos 5 barrel!