Snake Charmer
8 Wired Brewing Co.

2017 Vintage labeled as 1 Pt 9oz. but fills up my Samuel Adams Imperial pint glass almost to the brim. Poured a murky cranberry tea color with a finger high off white head that dissipated quickly, no lacing and particulate matter present (looks like the black currant berries). Aroma of oak, vanilla, berries & an earthy funk are present. Taste follows nose with berries vanilla & wood forward with just the right amount of sourness/tartness in the finish. Mouth is light to medium with slight amount of carbonation on the tongue. Well done!

 

an oak aged wild sour beer with currants, wonderful maturity and complexity, and the first i have seen from these guys on draft in ages and ages, in town for shelton fest activities i am sure. lucky us, this is great beer. a muted pinkish red color to it with some obvious viscosity and haze, and an airy off white head on it. the currants are sharp in the nose, a tannic and astringent pucker right away from them makes my mouth water, natural and with cranberry and strawberry and red wine suggestions as well, especially with all the oak, which is huge for the style, more that we generally encounter in such things. heavy wood to the flavor lends a sort of vanilla aspect to the fruit, sweetening up the acidity enough to make this drinkable, otherwise it might be too sour to have much of, so the wood is really needed here. strong bacterial element too, but its clean, and a big mature bretty funk drying this right out for how fruity it is, the best of both worlds on the fermentation side, and wrapped tightly in all the oak. the currants are really bold here, but also really distinctive and unique, great with the wild yeast elements and now with some blackberry and even blueberry notes as it warms up. really kind of a rich and decadent brew, profoundly woody, and really expertly done overall. i have not had much sour beer from these guys, this is excellent overall!

A 500ml bottle, 2017 vintage, with a best before date of 19th February 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.

Appearance: A clear reddish orange colour with an almost three finger slightly off white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.

Aroma: Lightly tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, oak, vanilla and funk.

Taste: Pretty much exactly what you get in the aroma, sour and tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, mixed berries, oak, vanilla and funk.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with spritzy moderate to high carbonation.

Overall: Great fruit flavours with strong barrel character. Just really good to drink.