Petite Sour - Blueberry
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16 ounce can.
Canned 07/20/2021.

Vigorous pour yields a half inch slightly pink, off white head over a pink body with little lacing.

Nose of funk, blueberry, and slight citrus.

Taste of tart blueberry with a bit of oak and funk.

Nice feel of tiny bubbles with a finish that's nicely dry.

Overall, a great little sour from Denver.

Cheers!

 

Bought at Liquor Shed in Casper.

The dating is kind of messed up. It's supposed to be on the bottom of the can but it stretches over the lip. Best guess, 02/12/22? Or 21, that would make it the packaged date. I looked at several of the cans and none were easy to figure out.

It pours a clear copper with loads of bubbles and a long lasting head of foam with good lacing.

Smells fruity, blueberry is a tough one to smell in my past experiences. Oaky, vinous, and that unmistakable aroma of Brett.

Fruity taste, again, see my remarks regarding blueberries, vinous, Brett and oak, level of tartness...manageable for, I reckon, folks who are not into sours. After each sip, I find myself smacking my mouth to try to discover more. I have resolved myself to saying...more is not needed.

The mouthfeel doesn't seem to suffer from the lowish abv. Plenty of carbonation but not enough to make it disappointing.

In a word. WOW!

My ride or die said this was lemonade - I say she’s drinking haterade. This damn sucker is just beautiful and everecent like a naughty dream with lots of things. Hella sexy like Nicole Kidman when she was with that little wiener dude. This is enough, I’m outta here.

April 2015 bottling.

White head that fades. Clear pink rose color.

For nearly 6 years old, this tastes nice. Brett is very light, but shows. Blueberries are still showing. A little tart, a little citrusy. Has a faint band aid flavor, otherwise solid.

Pours somewhere between Burgundy and Mahogany. Smells like grape fruit snacks, vinous white wine funk, and heather. The funk is what stands out, there's kind of a champagney, cider-like note in there as well. The acidity is fairly restrained. Several years have gone by since this was released and it's still a beautiful beer.

Violet-tinted champagne with no head; lemon rind, chalky mineral, orange tree leaf on the nose; gentlest white vinegar, hints of berry, lemon verbena, woody thread, vague straw, slight soap + some tin; clean.

3.75 4 4 4 4

Can fruit sours age out? Can’t find a date on this bottle, but I’ve had it for a good long while. And I don’t know why I sat on it, because there’s nothing special about it. Fruit, funk, barrel, all subdued - and I don’t mean subtle, I mean you dig + there’s not much there. It does have a piquant acidity - more citric than lacto - that would keep you drinking in summer or cut through a ripe soft cheese. And it's not a kettle sour, natch; it's got all the mellowness of a good aged Brett.

But just doesn’t bring the layers that other good CS have, sadly.

 

 

 

Definite upside of visiting Denver is checking out that quaint little Crooked Stave tasting room inside that hotel (like?) place.

I believe these are notes from having it on tap there. Pours a similar color to a blueberry skin itself mixed within the lighter rose pink shade towards to edge of the glass. Pink head 1/2". She is a pretty pour. The aroma is super dry oak and berries. Again impressed how it managed to push a super dry wood character simultaneous with notes of wet hay and mustiness.

Taste is very appreciable, this excels beyond something like Bruery Beuregarde because it is a softer abv and acidity, but even stronger wood and drying notes in the mouthfeel. Their fruit character and sourness are both desireable. Super enjoy the more session like body of the beer that allows more nuance to shine through instead of batting a greater burn of alcohol and sourness that can obscure even really good beers from achieving more. Crisp, fresh, full of flavor, it pretty much does everything real well, except going easy on the pocketbook.