Colour Five
Jester King Brewery

Blend One September 2014 at 43 degrees into tulip
Aroma of blueberries
Head small (<2 cm, aggressive pour), pink, fizzy, very rapidly diminishing to no ring, no layer
Lacing none
Body medium burgundy, clear
Flavor begins tart with some weak yeast phenolics and light fruity esters; flavors very delicate and ephemeral; virtually no Brett funk; no hops, no malt, no alcohol, no diacetyl
Palate light, dry, soft carbonation

Appearance 3.5, Aroma 4, Flavor 4.25, Palate 4.25, Overall 4

 

 

 

 

Review: 2143
Name: Color Five
Brewery: Jester King Brewery
Location: Austin, TX
Style: Wild Ale
ABV: 7.1%
Date: 03/2020
As I poured this unique brew into my tulip glass, I was immediately struck by its distinct characteristics. The frothy, foamy, one-fingered head with poor retention, the purple color with a reddish hue, and the semi-opaque clarity with bits of fruit or yeast floating, all combined to create a truly unique appearance. It's a beer that demands attention. I served the beer in a tulip glass.
Nosing the glass, I smell blueberries, lightly toasted malts, floral esters, a skosh of barnyard funky, salty air, lemons, acidic acid, grass, and hay with a lovely oak note. The aromas are simple, clean, and fragrant for this four-year-old beer.
The complexity of this beer is truly impressive. The blueberries add an immense amount of depth, with a tarty, tannic, and satisfying touch of fruity sweetness. The malt profile, with its cracker notes, lightly toasted bread, and malty sweetness, mingles perfectly. Other flavors, such as lemons, hay, yeasty funkiness, light barnyard, floral blossoms, and herbal notes, all add to the depth. The barrel aging adds a complex layer of flavors, with a delightful oak flavor that blends everything into a seamless harmony.
The mouthfeel is tart and tannic and finishes dry. The body is medium and has a medium-plus carbonation.
Color Five is a beer that leaves you wanting more. Its harmony and balance are nearly perfect, and the blueberries add a delightful complexity to the barrel-aged wild ale. After experiencing this, I can't help but want to explore more of what this beer has to offer. I'm definitely getting a few more of these.

Blend seven, Sept. 2022. Drank 11/10/23. Superb.

16.9oz bottle. Label describes this as 'BLEND SEVEN SEPTEMBER 2022'.
Reddish purple colored body. Quick dissipating purplish head. No lacing.
Aroma of horse blanket funk, oak, and berry fruit.
Taste is tart. Oak and leather funk. Berry, including blueberry, strawberry, and blackberry. Quick fade.
Medium mouth feel. Cleans the teeth. Buzzy carbonation.
Fresh tasting wild ale with berry.

Blend Seven - September 2022

Appearance: Pours the color of Pinot Noir with a frothy one finger head that rapidly fades to a collar; speckles of lacing

Smell: Funky red wine infused dark fruit aromatics more oriented toward black raspberry, cranberry and cherry than blueberry

Taste: Sweet berry and a red wine impression hit the tip of the tongue with black raspberry and cherry flavors and, perhaps, a hint of blueberry; through the middle, an oaky tartness joins with wild funk; the finish is chewy, leathery and somewhat dry

Mouthfeel: Medium body with low carbonation; modest pucker factor

Overall: Far less blueberry flavor than expected but still a quality fruited sour

 

 

 

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