Ritual Madness
Indie Ale House Brewing Company

 

Colour borders the line of amber and brown; not quite forming an off-white head, it recedes to nothing immediately.
Faint aromas of grape, apple, oak.
Pronounced tart flavours of rhubarb, unripe plum - it's not 'fruity'; a touch of oak, and earthiness; low carbonation, medium body; feel is highly acidic, almost vinegary, with some residual sugar in the finish, leaving it off-dry.

There is potential here, with it's refined flavour, but it needs more carbonation to excite the palate, and more yeast contribution to add complexity.

wow, Like a super Flanders, not 100% to style if you go by the kinds we find in the lcbo, but its richer, sweeter, more tart and more complex than a regular Flanders red. The barrel and wine notes pop, the finish is perfect. Only complaint is huge bottle size.

 

Bottle: Poured a dirty reddish color ale with a light foamy head with minimal retention. Aroma of vinous notes with oak and cherry notes is quite splendid. Taste is a nice mix of tart cherry notes oak and vinous notes with light residuals sugar notes. Body is full for style with good carbonation. Very well balanced Flanders red with good mix of complexities while retaining excellent drinkability.

 

Poured a reddish brown with a decent translucence. There was about a finger of foam upon pour, and then it broke leaving a thin ring of bubbles in its wake. The nose is tart and fruity, and you can pick up the wine barrels. Taste is quite nice with tart coming first. It is earthy and a little acidic. Then the wine barrel flavor comes in, balancing the tart. What you get is a lovely Flanders red with a little something extra. The feel is medium with medium somewhat prickly carbonation.

A nice beer, and I was not expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. The wine barrel is not intrusive in this beer, which can be a problem with some beers. Here it works well adding some nice flavors to the mix.