Southern Vine Sour
New Belgium Brewing Company

 

an exciting and delicious wild ale from new belgium here, done with a unique indigenous grape and some sumac, an awesome combination, this is the best i have had from these guys in ages, and a highlight of my beer weekend (so far anyway). its worth the price, quite complex, and is a neat idea and combination of ingredients, i was really impressed and may end up buying more of this. its still so classically new belgium too, the same foedre character as their other blond wood aged sours, recognizable immediately to me, vinous for sure with the grapes, but there is a lot of tannins in the wood here too, light vanilla and earthiness even before the fruit, the grapes are tart and sweet and winey all at once, and seem the perfect fruit for this base. it pours a touch hazy, with a short but lasting white head and gives off a gorgeous aroma of fresh cut flowers, green grapes, summery white wine, musty oak, and even peaches or apricots or something, an essence. the flavor is awesome, not to sour and cleanly acidic, some lemony and orange notes to it, floral from the sumac, herbaceous and different, with a light rooibos tea and red berry complexion to it, a rad addition to this beer, makes it totally unique. the grapes are the star though, nice with the wheaty fuller base, tangy and crisping, almost a champagne element to them here. the brett is mature and farmy and rustic and this seems quite well evolved, layered, and professionally executed. lively enough in the glass with lots of textural interest. overall just a sensational brew, enjoyable with grilled salmon, but it needs no food context at all. the sumac is genius, the proportions are awesome, and this is a real high point for new belgium of late. elite level wild beer here!

Tap at AVL brewery; slight hazy copper-straw color, minimal head with fine bubbles and some oily lace; ; Bunches of big fat white grape, some musk, fresh open field grassy/herbal notes, citrus like orange and lemon; light, lively, and energetic, slightly sweet, dry finish, crisp, refreshing. Tart but not sour, lacto/pedio style blend.
Excellent beer from NB, this new foeder trend is going well for them.

 

 

pours out an orange-brown hue. Scuppernongs have a very pronounced rank taste and smell, but you don't get any of that with this beer. They've figured out a way to give you a bit of the taste of the scuppernong without overwhelming you with its rankness. Overall very drinkable