Raspberry Origins
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

 

Consumed at March Madness 2017. Regular origins didn't really jive with me, but if this is a dry raspberry, it might just be the antidote to a lot of why I wasn't into the OG.

Pours darker than any raspberry beer I can think of. Pours a dark brown with a light purple current through it if held up to light. The head is about 2/5" of beige with a light pink hue to it. The aroma is a mixture of tart brown malt, raspberry, oak and light cranberry feel to it. Hits the acetic and balsamic feels aroma wise.

Taste I will say I definitely enjoyed more than the OG, but still remain slightly mystified as to its high score here. Its still not up to what I would say is an average crooked stave beer. Shares a lot in common with both flanders red and oud bruin, but with a more intense sourness. The slightly brighter, drier, approach worked a lot better for me here, but there is still an earthy soil component to it. Kind of pricey stuff, glad someone else brought it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deep burgundy red. Surprisingly, pours a dense head which is unfortunately short lived. Perfect aroma of fresh raspberries, oak and acetic acid. Fresh and sweet raspberry jam on the palate. Deep brown ale base mingles with the oak and balsamic vinegar seamlessly. Fairly intense acid, acetic beginning to middle then citric then lactic in the finish. Not a lot of funk. Perfect balance cold but the balsamic dominates slightly as it warms. Feel is aggressively dry and puckering. High carbonation is perfect. Raspberry seed texture coats the tongue and adds to the dryness. As I empty the glass, I can detect an interesting peach aroma which was not there before. Unreal. All the flavors are so authentic and well integrated. Crooked Stave has blown me away yet again.

 

 

 

 

A 375ml bottle, bottled in December 2015. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.

Appearance: A dark burgundy ruby red colour with a just over one finger off pink with a dark orange hue head that dissipated fairly quickly to a thin cap with some nice lacing.

Aroma: Very nice sweet and tart raspberry jammy aromas with perhaps a hint of oak.

Taste: Sour and tart raspberries and lemon to begin, followed by some light sweet jammy raspberries and a hint of oak. It finishes sour again with lemon, some citric acidity and a touch of grapes.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to light carbonation and a dry-ish finish.

Overall: The aromas were stunning and while the taste didn’t quite match up to the aroma, it was still very good.

Dark burgundy with glowing garnet edges and an off-pink head that settles to a thick collar but can be swirled back into existence.

Smell is an absolute abundance of fresh crushed raspberries! I also get toasted raspberry seed, sour red grape and peppery but wet oak.

Taste is mouth puckeringly sour raspberries, again in absolute abundance, with a spritz of lime juice making this quite acidic indeed. There are also touches of sesame and raspberry seeds and toasted dark bread.

This is very very sour, almost Warheads level, yet with a soft fizz and medium body, finishing semi dry.

With so much freshness coming out of a bottle dated December 2015, what better way is there to preserve the aromas and flavors of fruit than this?!

Drank from a 375 ml (12.7 fl oz) bottle purchased at Whole Foods Market - Columbus Circle, New York, NY
December 2015
Served in a tulip

The gorgeous, burgundy colored body was capped by a finger-tall crop of bubbly, light pink froth. Solid retention. The crown slowly dropped to a foamy cap. Patchy rings of lacing trickled down the glass.

The nose was uber raspberry forward and pleasantly tart. Freshly pureed raspberries came to mind. Nice jammy sweetness too. Bretty and sour but not overwhelmingly so. Big vinous notes. Red wine for sure. Moderately oaky.

Flovorwise, the beer was much more sour and acidic. Raspberry notes appeared briefly up front but they were quickly overshadowed by the lemony tartness and vinegar-like acidity. The beer turned even more sour and acidic as it moved along the palate. Red wine vinegar came through on the back end. More lemon juice on the finish. Some oaky tannins lingered after the swallow. As the beer sat, fresh raspberry notes really came forth and balanced out the flavor profile. Hint of sweetness too.

Light, crisp, frothy mouthfeel. The liquid contained a lively, finely bubbled effervescence. Slick, creamy and smooth once settled on the palate. The beer's acidity level approached "tooth enamel stripping" but fell just shy of it.

I have found most Crooked Stave wild ales to be overwhelmingly sour and acidic, but Raspberry Origins was definitely not so one dimensional. While this beer was quite tart, the raspberry notes were sweet and bright enough to keep things nicely balanced. Hopefully one day I will see fresher bottles of this brewery's fruited wild ales in my neck of the woods, as most of these year-plus old bottles surely do not express their fruity notes as they should.

 

 

Minimal head that fades almost before the pour is finished. Beautiful burgundy color though. The smell...so jammy; all pureed raspberries, but with some oak and a hint of a dusty attic. Taste is puckering sour raspberries. Almost too astringent at first, but after the palate adjusts, it makes for a nice sipper. Extremely dry finish, pushing wine territory. Drank at cellar temp, but it should have been slightly cooled.