Oak And Orchard - Strawberry Rhubarb
Epic Brewing Company

2019

 

 

 

 

REL # 9 , SLC #4908

Good beer but a whole glass seems like a bit much. Both strawberry and rhubarb really come out strong in the taste and smell, with a slight edge to the strawberry. Taste incorporates a yeasty matrix for the fruits to settle into and finishes with a big tart and sour note. Cumulative acidity is heart burn inducing however

Pours light Cloudy gold and orange. Foamy, short white head that Fades fast.

Smells tart strawberry, lemon, tartberry, vinegar, Oak and funk.

Taste quite tart lemon, strawberry, fruity, vinegar, Light Oak and wine. Finishes dry with a funk and light strawberry linger. Medium body and fizzy higher carbonation.

 

 

 

Amazing beer. Very complex. Oak, leather, funk, some vinegar, (very) tart rhubarb, with strawberries in the background. To me this comes across as a funky oaked blond sour first and foremost, with the fruit being a secondary component.

I'm a huge fan of rhubarb and usually hate when strawberries are added (to pie for example) because the strawberries tend to take over and make everything cloyingly sweet. As previously noted the fruit isn't front and center, which is okay even though I wouldn't mind tasting the rhubarb more; but more importantly this is not a sweet beer, which is much appreciated. (Which begs the question: why not leave the strawberries out altogether?)

 

i have really loved this series of beers from epic, and i wanted to like this one more than i did when i had it on tap at lucky pie downtown for lunch yesterday. it pours a murky pale color, maybe a little pink, and visibly fizzy and popping with carbonation even though it never really collects into much head. apparently they use a lot of the strawberries and rhubarb in this, but it seems lost a little bit to the acidity. we all think its sexy when things are long aged in wood, but sometimes it lets the bacterial component of a wild culture run away with the thing, and that seems to be the case here. the piquant tartness of the rhubarb is there, but the acidity from the ferment trounces it. it tastes fresh and natural though, and i like that. i also like that its as much rhubarb as strawberry. for as long as these things have been put together, its always in a lesser role, and i like it being at least as robust as the berries here, good job with that. i like the wood, and there still is some funk, its just too sour to be nuanced and even finishing a small pour was a lot for me. i also dont know why rhubarb seems to married to strawberry, what about blackberry or grape or anything else. to the best of my sometimes faulty recollection, only blackberry farm with their blueberry rhubarb has broken the mold on this in a beer, it seems like there is plenty of potential for rhubarb without strawberry...

375 ml bottle into tulip glass; no bottle dating, but was just released. Pours fairly hazy golden amber/light orange color with a 1-2 finger dense white head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big juicy/tart/tangy strawberries, rhubarb, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, strawberry, rhubarb, oak, and pale/wheat malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big juicy/tart/tangy strawberries, rhubarb, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, leathery/musty funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/sour strawberries, rhubarb, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, melon, red/green apple, white wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, light funk/vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, strawberry, rhubarb, oak, and pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tart/sourness and tangy fruit balance; with zero puckering flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tart/sourness and tangy fruit. Medium carbonatoion and body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/acidic/tangy, and lightly tannic mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 6.9%. Overall this is an outstanding fruited sour/wild ale. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, strawberry, rhubarb, oak, and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and pretty refreshing to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/drying finish, not overly lactic. Nicely jammy berries/rhubarb, with great well rounded Brett/Bacteria complexity; nice oak presence, and pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example. This is the best one yet. Definitely more sour and funky than the other ones.