Oakily Dokily
Cambridge Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

Serving: On tap in a tulip
Served: 15 April 2016

Appearance: Pours such a murky red color you can't really see anything. Not much of a head. Looks like cranberry juice, just hazier. I think this may look better outside in the beer garden in better light, but inside in the dim lighting it's not a looker.

Smell: Yup, it's a sour, so you get some of that barnyard funk and some really nice cherry notes in the nose. Smells like a tart cherry pie with hay and flowers.

Taste: Really awesome complexities on the palate, though the beer is definitely dominated by the sour cherry note. I don't think there are actual cherries in this brew- it's black currants- but they definitely add similar flavor characteristics as dried cherries. Perhaps a bit sweeter and slightly more plum/raisin notes, but definitely big on the stone-fruit flavors. The yeast mix they use add good notes of malic acid, hay, honey, and perry.

Mouthfeel: Medium-high body with medium carbonation. A great sipper.

Overall: A great beer from CBC, and one I would definitely recommend getting. A sour beer, but one that I think would be appropriate for first-timers (like myself!) due to its approachable fruit flavors. Highly recommended.

 

Cloudy, reddish brown. Nearly no head and it dies quickly to the finest of rim bubbles. Basically, it looks flat, although the carbonation is evident in the taste. No lace whatsoever.

Traditional sour cherry aroma, very true to expectations.

More tart than most Flanders Reds and less sweet. In all, I think this makes it a better beer. Lots sour cherries. There's a smoothness that must come from the presence of black currants although I cannot specifically pick the flavor out. The finish is lip-puckeringly sour. This may be my favorite of the style is I've ever had.