Space Skull Ascendant
Brewery Vivant

 

Fantastic dry hopped, barrel aged golden sour. Beautiful deep golden color, smells fresh and juicy, has great jammy, almost hard candy fruit flavors, really great hop aromas, a sweet subtle syrupy warmth, a really enjoyable beer.

 

Pour is darker than I had expected, more of a ruddy copper. Murky with a massive tan head. Good retention, good lacing.

Nose has an interesting blend of tannic tartness but smoothed with an almost caramel layer thinly applied at the bottom. The funkiness found herein is not sharp nor is it particularly pronounced, but it rides along smoothly just under the surface. The hops pull it forward, and stop juuuust this side of giving it a too-sweet stab in the middle.

Interesting creamy note leads it off, with a rounding quality that almost reminds me of tart cherries but not quite. Woody character tangles with the flattened tartness to keep it mellow. Tart converts to harsh grapefruit bitter along the back end and leaves a long finish. The creamy note almost gives more the impression of slimy than creamy which is a touch offputting, though it's somewhat soft as a result as well. Tight carbonation augments the tart/bitter elements and helps counteract the odd note I previously describe.

Overall another tasty and unique beer from the Mitt. Much appreciation to @FlintB for sending it along. Thanks Brian!

 

Sarah got me for Valentine's day, really nice hoppy nose, was expecting taste to be funky but was a good mix of hop and woodsy.

500 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2018 vintage bottling. Pours slightly hazy deep orange/light copper color with a 2 finger dense and rocky off white head with great retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Great thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of big tart lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, apricot, green apple, pineapple, grapefruit, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, white wine, pepper, oak, hay, straw, floral, grass, caramel, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, leathery/musty funk, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, citrus/tropical hops, oak barrel, and moderate dark/bready malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big tart lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, apricot, green apple, pineapple, grapefruit, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, white wine, pepper, oak, hay, straw, floral, grass, caramel, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, leathery/musty funk, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate lactic tartness, yeast/oak tannin spiciness, and herbal/grassy bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, apricot, green apple, pineapple, grapefruit, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, white wine, pepper, oak, hay, straw, floral, grass, caramel, toasted bread, oaken vanilla, leathery/musty funk, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, citrus/tropical hops, oak barrel, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; with a great malt/tartness and bitter/spiciness balance; with zero puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tart/bitter/spiciness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately bready/grainy/acidic/sticky/tannic, and lightly silky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol for 7%. Overall this is an awesome barrel-aged dry hopped sour ale! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic/spicy yeast, citrus/tropical hops, oak barrel, and moderate dark/bready malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the modestly acidic/tannic/drying finish, never overly lactic. Really awesome Brett complexity with balanced citrus/tropical hops; great oak barrel presence and malt backbone. A really enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example.