“Mortal wood represents the continued efforts of Phantom Carriage to craft and hone its sour, barrel-aged beer program. This beer is a melange of aged lambic-style ales that were finished in white wine barrels and then blended to give a complex and layered flavour profile.”
Glassware: Stemmed Tulip.
Appearance: Pale gold with a light haze. The pour generates a thumb of fizzy white head which quickly snaps back to the edges. Very minimal lace as we tuck in.
Aroma: Smells of old and musty wine barrels, white grape juice, peppery spice, candied lemon peel and aged white vinegar. Hints of dried apricot and unripe peach also coming through. Loving how the sour/cheesy funk is very well tempered and nicely offset by the complex barrel characters. Fine aroma.
Flavour: Pleasantly follows the nose with musty wine barrels and a slightly heavier pronunciation on pithy lime juice and lemon rind. Dry peppery spice and very subtle vinegar through the mid shifts in to the bone dry finish which offers candied citrus, pear and white grapes on the back end.
Mouthfeel: Very champagne-like with its delicate sparkle and light dry texture. Mild-medium body. 6%AbV.
Overall: We found this to be a fairly approachable sour, easily our favourite Phantom Carriage beer so far. Well structured, balanced and effortless over the tongue. Solid drop.