Living Proof: Wild Red
Country Boy Brewing

 

 

Spicy, sour, winey and fruity- its a flanders-inspired red ale but done the country boy way.

In the "Living Proof" series, the beer's wild character embarks upon a dry, toasty, nutty and savory grain bill, pouring with a rusty reddish-brown. Light on froth, the beer soon takes on a more winey tone to both the eye and the nose. Piquantly sour, the rustic perfume of roasted nuttiness, red wine, cinnamon, peppercorn and a host of sour dark fruit carry a musty, sea air, weathered oak aura. Light candied sweetness greets the tongue with notions of hard candy and saltwater taffy.

As the middle palate unfolds, it thwarts its sweetness and favors the wild, the tart, the fruit and the spice. Blackberry, plum, currant, red grape, cherry and blueberry all come to mind as the sourness rolls across the tongue. Trending winey with robust burgundy, the vinous taste is interrupted with cinnamon, peppercorn, crabapple, lime and a saltine robustness. All the while, the taste is wrapped in a current of saddle leather, dried wood, brine and booze soaked cork.

Medium-light on the palate, a hint of resisting malt stands back and balances the brunt of sourness and spice and gives the final taste a creamy center with a long after tow of wine and peppercorn. Alcohol spice gives greater brevity to the sourness as its acidity lifts the thirst and makes the beer much more drinkable and refreshing that an eight-plus perccent ale should. Save for strong saline oysters, bacon-wrapped dates and rhubarb pie.