Barrel-Aged Sap Haus
Oxbow Brewing Company

red wine barrel aged mixed fermentation beer with smoked malt and maple syrup, right in my wheelhaus (see what i did there?). the bottle gushed pretty aggressively when our server popped it tableside, real lively and eager to get in the glass. a lightly sedimented dark brown brew with an airy off white belgian looking head, excellent retention for this being quite tart. interestingly, i discovered what looked like a whole black fly in the dregs of this, i dont find that gross oddly enough, i find it somehow authenticating, flies like farmhouses, they like maple syrup, makes sense. anyway, never seen that before. the smoke on this is in front of either the wine barrel aspect or the maple for me in aroma and in flavor. sort of german to me in this regard, really pretty smoke forward, but the sharp fruity wine and the sweet maple come right in behind it, some dry cocoa and chocolate malt character, some real funk but also a pretty developed bacterial acidity as well, lots and lots of wood makes this seem quite rustic, subtle apple, cigar, and leather here too, dark fruits, wet animals, a bit of roast, clay and minerals, light peppery spice here too. the maple sets in more as it warms, never syrupy or thick or too sweet, but there is a nice richness and natural maple taste thats great with the smoke. i would have thought bourbon a more compatible choice for this but i find myself really digging what the wine adds. the fruitiness is great in the middle, the tannins late, and of course the oak. trace vanilla from it, plum, and raisin. overall delicious beer, uniquely on the tart side for the flavors but full of classic oxbow funk too. lovely brew, more autumn than summer, but never a bad moment for a beer of this quality and complexity. never mind the fly!

A: Beer ha a dark brown appearance. The head was cream colored.

S: Smell was a bit funky. I was getting weird hints of sour fruit and other funk in the aroma.

T: Awful, not what I was expecting at all. There was no taste of malt or maple syrup. Instead i got a very sour beer with hints of olive.

MF: Mouth feel was light to medium.

O: The ingredients didn't work in this one. Spare yourself the trouble an try some of Oxbow's other beers.

500 mL bottle. Deep brown, big khaki head. Smells of strong red wine, oak, smoke, light maple in the background. Tastes of much more maple up front, smoke, toasty bread, lots of oak, vinous red wine with hints of vinegar. Finishes lactic. Fascinating. I didn't expect this to work as well as it does. I bought it out of fascination with the wackiness of it and the gamble paid off.

Bottle from Blending and Bottling in Portland. Pours a opaque very dark amber/black with a finger of off-white head; smell is sour red wine, funky grape juice, cherries, red currant, hint of smoke and chocolate; taste is funky musty red wine, earthy frutti di bosco juice, red currant, sour cherry, followed by dark roast malts, chocolate, and smoke; feel is light, medium carbonation , medium acid. Earthy, funky, red fruit juice, chocolate, and smoke. Yams.

 

 

Boy is this a weird beer or what.

The clear burnt acorn-reddish pour fills to a dull brown and builds a short bubbly tan head.

I'm immediately getting BAND-AIDs, like peaty scotch, which, if that isn't enough, meets green olive and barnyard funk, all via a thin body.

Each individual element might be desirable under certain conditions, but all together, it's a painfully dump worthy beer.