Blackberry Sour
Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing

 

 

 

 

 

i had way higher hopes for this, especially at 46 dollars a bottle, its borderline offensive at that price. hopefully a state of PA thing and not a price set by the brewery, thats absurd. its murky and thick, deep amber in color, looking somewhat unrefined under its puffy tan head. aroma of tangy red wine, no appreciable blackberry, lots of vinegar and a generic red fruity sweetness, lots of oak though, vanilla with it, and crystal malt depth, a little booze backs it all up. its really sour beer, i pucker up just smelling it, and its quite acetic on the first pull. i do get the blackberry, and its sweet and juicy with a little tang of its own, but its totally overpowered by the sourness here, very flanders red type with the lemon and the vinegar aspects, but its not all that great to me, seems somewhat sloppy on the wild side. lots of oak and red wine to this, highly tannic and sharp, but also really rich and flavorful, no shortage of flavor to this one! i can see the appeal for the real sour heads, but there is a real lack of funk here, the wood profile is the best feature for me, the fruit is almost irrelevant, not because it isnt there, but because the beer wouldnt seem to be a whole lot different without it. cool use of the barrels i guess, but at this price, its absolutely not one to spend your coin on. lackluster first impression of this operation...