Contrarium (Chardonnay)
Silver Moon Brewing

 

super cool little series of beers here, sold as a two back in frosted black glass wax dipped bottles, one in white wine barrels, one in red wine barrels. the base beer is a pale brett beer, and i was a bit disappointed with the lack of yeast and wild maturity in both of them, but the barrels define them both and make them quite unique, and i thought the price was really fair for them, i wish i kept them in the cellar awhile to develop a bit more, but we liked them pretty well anyway, always cool to do a little side by side with this sort of thing. the chardonnay is obvious in this honey colored brew that almost totally lacks a head, its vinous all the way, sharp even, with notes of lime, kiwi, and bright minerals, and the oak is strong on it, tannic and mellowing, a little sweet with the grain sugar that hasnt all been digested yet, and there is nice depth despite the brett being kind of new and stinky, definitely the least impressive part of this. i can see a time when this is dry and sparkling and funked right out, and it will be magic then, but for now, its still pretty tasty even though it tastes young, the barrel character is great, and overall i think i liked this one a little better than the red wine edition. i wish it had more bubbles and was drier and just more lively and refined, but its a cool project. the first wild type beer i have seen from these guys. if you still have the set, be in no rush to open it, i wish i had waited...