Olallieberry Lambic
Bootlegger's Brewery

Looks like light cranberry juice, that glowing red. What little head there was equated to a here and gone type of presence and dispersal.

Aroma was bitter, tart, more acidic cranberry and cherry. Nothing in terms of wood here noticeable.

Taste was upwards of sour, a 6.5 on a 10 scale. Not familiar with this fruit, but it was enjoyable, would check it out if available again.

 

Pours out a red color similar to cranberry juice. Or cranberry/vodka. Head disappears quickly as usual for this style.

Aroma was bitter, tart, not much different than a cranberry, but probably even more acidic.

Same for the taste, ample fruit flavor and sourness from this one. Very straightforward, another example that lambics can be made in the US. Good fruit characteristic solely seeming to be from berries (even harder to make a good one in my experience v. lemon/cherry).

Drank at Beachwood's Sourfest. Wait, what's an olallieberry?

On-tap at Beachwood BBQ,

A: Pours a dark berry red with a limited white head, spotty lace.

S: Berry juice, some balsamic vinegar, tart.

T: Never having had olallieberries I don't know what they taste like. I got very much a dark berry flavour (blackberries and boysenberries), with a good amount of acetic acid. Quite tasty.

M: Strong acidity, tart to a T, soft carbonation.

O: Quite a good beer from Bootlegger's. Their sour program is pretty nice across the board, this is another solid example.

From notes taken during Bootlegger's 3rd Anniversary Party last weekend.

A: Pours a hazy, dirty peach color with tiny bubbles around the edge of the glass.

S: Nose indicates this is a fruity sour with an oaky tartness.

T: Sour it is, and slightly throat clenching at that. The olallieberries are subtle but present. Somewhat tart.

M: Puckeringly tart and lip smacking good.

O: The tasting menu listed this as "Ollolieberry Wild - A sour refermented with Ollolieberries". A base, probably a lambic, with berries added. Refreshing and an enjoyable sour. Please bottle this.

Picked up a couple growlers after I had a taste from Vacax's stash.

Pours ruby red - looks like cranberry juice. Good head and great carbonation.
I'm not picking up a lot of nose to this. It smells faintly lambic (duh) and faintly otterpop.

Taste is tart with heavy berry overtones - again reminds me of cranberry. The initial tartness is counter by the pleasant sweetness of the Olallieberry. The tart lingers on the back of the tongue for a bit. I think I actually prefer it a little cooler than cellar temperature. It's great on a hot day.

Highly drinkable.

I will definitely be picking up more next time they brew it.

Bootlegger's Olallieberry Lambic is their fresh lambic tossed into a barrel and refermented with local grown Olallieberries. The fresh berries result in a looker of a beer that pours the same color as cranberry juice. The rich dark red color is very appealing, and is topped by a thin white head that does not stick around much.

The olallieberries are also obvious in the bouquet, which is bursting with berries. Blackberries, raspberries or tart cherries are all there. Behind the berries is an acetic lambic base that has just a barely noticeable funk to it.

Flavor is medium tart with an acetic lambic characteristic. A helping of dark berries combines with the fresh lambic to create a nice balance. Some earthy and cereal qualities add complexity to the finish.

Personally, I'd like to see less acetic and more lacto qualities here, but that is just a personal preference--I have friends who adore this lambic straight. The body is between light and medium, with a medium spritzy carbonation. It could use a bit more carbonation, though I believe my growler was already foaming when they filled it up.

This is a very tasty little treat, if they were to let this thing stew around in barrels for an extended period of time who knows what could happen? Another possibility to explore would to be to bottle this and let it mature there, developing a spritzy natural fermentation. There are a number of exciting possibilities as to what Bootlegger's could try to do next. A nice beer.