Absolutely Bazaar
Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing

Al's of Hampden / Pizza Boy Brewing "Absolutely Bazaar"
$20 at the brewery / 25.4 fl. oz. green glass bottle, corked and caged, without production codes or freshness dating.

Notes via stream of consciousness: I couldn't pass this one up given that it's barrel aged, fermented with standard and wild yeasts, and contains barberries and sumac ~ which is obviously where the name comes from. It's a hazy deep golden/amber in color beneath a finger's width of white foam. Unfortunately the head drops away quickly, but that's to be expected of a sour beer. The aroma displays Brettanomyces character (fruitiness, the suggestion of acidity, citrus, leather, mustiness, earth), oak, and some sweetness. On to the flavor... it's tart but not too tart, and definitely fruity. How much of the fruitiness comes from the barberries, I don't know, but there's definitely some fruitiness to it from the yeast as well. How much of the acidity is from the sumac, I also don't know. I get some floral character which has to be from the sumac, but the citrus and vinegar notes that you'd normally find from sumac powder could easily be coming from the Brett just as well. The malt is sweetish, and maybe even doughy although it's hard to tell with so much going on. The Brett really is in full swing, which I love, and that gives it great character, but again, how much is Brett and how much is sumac and barberries? It doesn't matter, they've really come up with a winning combination here - everything works really well together, and it's superbly well rounded and balanced. It's not bitter at all but that's not needed with the acidity and dryness of the oak. In the mouth it's light-medium... maybe medium-light in body, and gently crisp and biting with acidity and a fine-bubbled moderate carbonation. I initially thought that a little more carbonation might be nice but then I realized that that would be too much, accentuating the acidity and bringing it to a puckering level. So, what to say that I haven't already said? Not much. This is a spectacular mixed-fermentation, fruit and spice beer that's also barrel aged AND, in this case, all of those things work and come together to make a greater whole. Fantastic!
Review #7,062