Apricot Spon
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

2023 vintage, absurdly sour, more sharp than i remember any unfruited version of these spon beers being, acidic to the point where it really curtails how much of this one can reasonably consume, but the funk is still there, its not overly fruity, and remains interesting and intriguing, just wish the harsh acetic character was dialed back a bit, this is really intense. nothing special to look at, rusty orange tinted beer without a lot of head from the draft, some haze, looks about like it should. the nose is fuzzy little ripe apricots, some juiciness there and mouthwatering with all the sour, but i get some oak character too, white wine thats been in the fridge too long open, and some lemon and even orange notes among the tanginess, slightly nutty wheat at the core of it i reckon, but its mature enough for that to be pretty well broken down it seems, some funk too, captivating and aggressive. the fruit is more subtle in the flavor because the acid crushes the palate upon the first wash. apricot is obvious yes, but mellow, and this also has yellow peach and tangerine nuance, sour candy character with a little grain sweetness and oaken richness, and its also very white winey to me. the sourness accentuates some alcohol presence in this, low as it is, and its definitely a small doses beer. i think some spontaneous yeast character, or the typical lambic-like funk i want and expect from that process, is lost to bacterial sourness here, perhaps thats just what was in the air that day, perhaps its to do with cooling temperature, or even held fermentation temperature, but its less delicate and drinkable than it should and perhaps should be, especially from crooked stave, who is a certifiable master of these types of beers, so my hopes were higher for this. i have a bottle at home, hoping its better in that format, will report back...

Had on tap at the brewery.

On arrival 1 finger of very fine white head was present. Color is a darker hazy yellow gold. Slight lacing is left.

Aroma is funky but also bright and fruity. A touch of barnyard mingles with a tart, almost fruited balsamic note.

Taste is pretty insane. This Is definitely closer to a standard beer than their sour rose since I can actually pick up a backing sweet dessert bread malt character. Way in front of that however is a big tart note that almost makes me sweat like I'm eating a banana pepper, despite that it is balanced by a definite fruit sweetness that makes this almost have a sweet funky lemon vibe.

Feel is attenuated without being overly dry. This is crisp but pretty full bodied with a long finish. This is a beer that you drink like wine (definitely keep it cold). Thin but full bodied long finish woth moderate carbonation.

Overall this is a really nice beer, and my first time trying something woth a spontaneous fermentation. Definitely for people that really like sour things, which fortunately I do. So I really enjoyed it and honestly the funk woth the apricot really balanced things well. One thing to note, if you get heart burn definitely bring tums.