Forgotten Oak 1
Arbor Brewing Company - Plymouth Taproom

A - Pours a murky reddish brown with a tw finger off white head. Nice amount of soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is raspberry, figs, brown sugar and oak.

T - The taste is raspberry, plums, figs, brown sugar, vanilla and oak.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Creamy mouthfeel with a soft dry finish.

O - This is a terrific sour brown. The flavors are a nice balance of rich and tart. Deceptively easy drinking at 11% ABV.

 

17.6 ounce bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but is a recent 2017 release. Pours hazy dark ruby red/brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense light khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas huge tart/sour raspberry jam, cherry, raisin, prune, fig, date, plum, apricot, apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, bourbon, toffee, toasted oak, and brown bread; with light notes of chocolate, cocoa, molasses, leather, musty funk, red wine vinegar, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of fruity/acidic/funky yeast, raspberry, figs, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of huge tart/sour raspberry jam, cherry, raisin, prune, fig, date, plum, apricot, apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, bourbon, toffee, toasted oak, and brown bread; with light notes of chocolate, cocoa, molasses, leather, musty funk, red wine vinegar, pepper, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness and light yeast/tannic oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of raspberry jam, cherry, raisin, prune, fig, date, plum, apricot, apple, red grape, caramel, brown sugar, vanilla, bourbon, toffee, toasted oak, brown bread, molasses, light chocolate/cocoa, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic/funky yeast, raspberry, figs, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tartness balance, and zero cloying or puckering flavors after the finish. Light dryness from tartness/acidity and oak spiciness, lightly increasing through the glass. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/acidic, and lightly tannic balanced mouthfeel that is awesome. Mildly warming alcohol for 11%. Overall this is an amazing barrel aged fruited sour quadrupel style! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/acidic/funky yeast, raspberry, figs, bourbon barrel, and dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to sip on for the big ABV, with the modest acidity/tartness. Insane levels of complexity, with pretty much perfect balance between all flavors. A highly delicious offering.

2017. Poured into a tulip it has a dark red and brown body and a light beige head of an inch. Smell of sour raspberries, fig, sour cherry, some oak, sweet malt, caramel, and a bit of vanilla. Taste is a ton of raspberry jam, fig, date, stone fruit, sour cherry, wood-y oak, vanilla, caramel, vanilla, and a bit of dry hay flavor at the end. Mouthfeel is full as well as body with a moderate carbonation. A fantastic sour ale, lots of varied fruit flavors with one big raspberry punch making it complex and not completely overwhelming, the raspberry flavor is a bit lighter then say rubaeus and more jam like, not as in your face, but still very very sour and tart. A great dessert beer, easily paired with any kind of dark chocolate.