Colour Five
Jester King Brewery

 

 

On tap, pours the purplish color you'd expect from a beer with blueberries in it. Blueberry smell and taste are subtle, however, and appropriately so. Nicely, but not excessively sour. Killer wild ale.

 

 

 

Served in a Lagunitas mason jar from an aluminum growler filled at Beer on the Wall - Arlington Heights.

Pours a mostly clear fuchsia topped by a finger of bone foam. The nose comprises mild tart blueberry, funky wheat, light grass, and a few drops of honey. The taste brings in more of the same, the berries coming in a bit clearer, and some mild mid-range red wine grape must joining the fray as well. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a decidedly drying finish. A pleasant bit o' berried sourness.

 

Look: Pours a lovely deep blue/purple with a lively lavender-colored head. Good carbonation. The head recedes over the course of a few minutes and leaves no visible lacing. The color from the blueberries really shines through, making this one quite attractive beer. 4.5

Smell: The smell is a little muted compared to what I expected. Being familiar with the standard Jester King funk, that's primarily what I get on the nose. Underneath the funk the blueberries poke their head out and provide a nice sweet balance in the aroma. 4.0

Taste: Initially I think I expected a little more blueberries, though I get them here more than in the nose. Again there's the standard Jester King funk followed by tartness from the blueberries, and finally balanced with a sweet jam-like flavor also from the blueberries. Though I initially found them to be subtle, as I continued to sip on this the blueberries became more obvious, and I began to enjoy the flavor more as I was able to more easily identify those flavors. 4.25

Feel: Good carbonation provides this with a nice, clean and dry finish (as is standard for JK) which balance the tartness well and leave you wanting another sip. 4.25

Overall: I really enjoyed this one. It's a very good wild ale from Jester King, and while I'm not sure that the blueberries translated into the palate quite as well as raspberries did in Atrial Rubicite or peaches did in Fēn Táo, it's still an excellent sour. 4.25

 

 

 

500 ml bottle into signature tulip glass; Blend Two, bottled in 1/2016. Pours slightly hazy/cloudy deep ruby red, light orange/purple color with a 1 finger dense and fluffy light pink head with great retention, that reduces to a thin lace cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy blueberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, peach, plum, cherry, cranberry, pear, apricot, red/green apple, currant, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, leather/musty Brett funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of blueberries, fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, oak barrels, and pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge sour/tart/tangy blueberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, peach, plum, cherry, cranberry, pear, apricot, red/green apple, currant, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, leather/musty Brett funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruit/lactic tartness, fruit tang, and yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy blueberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, peach, plum, cherry, cranberry, pear, apricot, red/green apple, currant, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, light pepper/funk/vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of blueberries, fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, oak barrels, and pale/wheat malt flavors; with a fantastic malt/tart/spiciness, and tangy fruit balance; with zero puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from lingering tart/spiciness and tangy fruit. Medium-plus carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth and moderately creamy/grainy/acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 6.3%. Overall this is an amazing fruited sour/wild ale! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of blueberries, fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, oak barrels, and pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/refreshing to drink with the mellowly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish; not overly lactic. Amazing balance of super jammy blueberries and Brett/Bacteria complexity; with great oak presence, and pale/wheat malts against acidity. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp acidic/tangy dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing top tier quality style example as expected. Aged amazingly over 3.5 years.

Would I buy this again? Very likely, yes. Its hard to pass up any JK fruits.

That said, this was not one of my more favorites. Blueberries - to me - are a tough fruit to capture the flavor of. This beer is very smooth and visually appealing. Flavor and smell fall a touch short.

 

 

 

 

Getting out of the rural Belgian beerscape of farmhouse ale and into the Brussels taste of sour ale, a slightly lambic-like taste comes out, employing the juicy taste of blueberries and oak for added charm and complexity.

Deep mauve and laced with a hazy yeast cloud, Colour Five is delicately carbonated for a burgundy wine appearance. And those wine-like impressions are just getting going as the fruits carry a tangy berry scent along with a sharp citrus, apple, grape and dark fruit perfume across the nose. Funk filled and the essence of weathered oak trail into a scantly sweet early palate of hard candy, pastry filling and wheat.

As the sweetness effortlessly drifts away, the red wine character overtakes the middle palate along with cider, lime, lemon, gooseberry and crabapple. Cranberry, blueberry and blackcherry all come to mind as the blueberry flavor pulls from the sourness. Growing acidity scrubs the thirst from the tongue and applies a savory nearly balsamic character to trail on the late palate.

Medium bodied but trending dry, a finish of spice seems of peppercorn and vinyl as the vinous alcohol warmth has the beer tasting as much of plum wine as it does of ale. Its brisk sourness leaves the mouth quickly while the remnants of fruit juices and pepper lingers into a medium length afterglow.

Batch 4; March 2018

Deep purple body with bone white head. Aroma of heavy Greek yogurt and hint of blueberry. Flavor profile is the same; lots of Greek yogurt funk and just a hint of fruit. Mouthfeel is medium light body with low carbonation. Semi dry finish. Overall, Colour five just did not deliver on the blueberries. Just recently had Allagash Little Sal for the first time and that is a blueberry sour that delivers the blueberries proper. Still a great fruited wild by Jester King, but you have to love the Greek yogurt funk of lacto.

 

 

Pours a lilac to ember red colour with a big, pink head, which vanishes immediately after pouring.

Offers a floral, herb accompanied fruitiness, which is defined by an acidic sourness, lemon peel and blueberry skin. Offers a jammy sweetness, together with dried earth and ripe sweet cherries.

Drinks truly refreshing with a perfectly nuanced combination of tartness and effervescence, becoming the most present during the beers finish.

Tastes of utmost ripe blueberries from first glance, together with a pleasant cherry jam quality and tart, subtle lemons. Turns a little dryer then, with a note of mushrooms and old, moldy basement among the still present blueberries. Finishes with a well pronounced punch of tartness, which gets easily matched by the fruits, which now appear a little unriper but still very natural and multi facetted.

What a great iteration of a blueberry sour. To me that is, because it isn‘t solely about the berries, since the flavors allow cherries, grass and earth to add in. This creates a perfectly balanced, complex beer, with a moderate, well entangled tartness, reminding me of a very well made lambic. This is how I imagined Blabaer would taste like.

 

 

Bottle dated March 2018. I like bottle, I just have to throw that out there. Colour Five pours a bright ruby red with a slight purple hue. Nose is of berry skins and earthy funk. Taste of tart berries, lemon zest, wet oak and earthy funk. It’s tart but not overly. Has a very rustic feel to it as most Jester sours do. A little light on body definitely not jammy like other examples of same style but it is very refreshing. Low carbonation. Low carbonation and light tartness make Colour Five very drinkable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wasnt a fan upon initial release, but just had one with about a year of age on it, and it has come along wonderfully. Flavors have come together nicely with a nice tartness to it and the sweetness is no longer overbearing.

 

 

 

 

 

Jammy purple color.

Lots of fruit and berries. Tart with a bit of funk. Lemon citrus.

Light bodied. Very easy drinking. Another enjoyable jester king sour.