Briar Heart
Urban Family Brewing Co.

 

 

Had on tap. Opaque dark magenta with a pinkish head. Lacto laced boysenberry and raspberry fill the nose. Taste again like others had at the brewery, is more like a fruit ale with light tartness than a true wild ale. Berry depth is impressive as it carries the taste with support from hints of red currant and lemon juice. Feel is medium bodied, playfully tart, smooth and refreshing.

 

 

500 ml bottle with no date seen. Assumed within freshness range when it was generously sent by Kemoarps, thanks! Poured into a tulip glass.
Poured a garnet color with deep purple streaks. Fingers worth of red tinged bubbles. Raspberry jam with seeds on the nose. There is also a lemon or yogurt tartness I pick up.
More of the lactic tartness first followed by light but earthy boysenberry. Raspberry comes in second but hits at the finish. Red wine notes, more of a tart finish without the acidic finish. Medium bodied, easy drinking and keeps my interest through out the beer. I’m fairly brand new to sours and this one hits all the levels for me as a good beginner sour.

 

 

Ruby clear body with an impressive foamy head of rose-tinged white that lingers more than typical for their stuff (and I suppose a lot of fruited sours I've had in general).

Berry sweet and tart. Mostly high notes, but a little bit of bramble to the body underneath. Some pinot-like red wine to the high berry notes.

Tart initial impression actually gives way pretty quickly, like a curtain being swept away to reveal a much earthier middle that carries to more of the bramble side of the berries. Neat trick. I actually really like that they lean into the low earthy notes here moreso than the high tart acidic character that dominates so many of their fruited sours (and so many bramble based sours in general... I like those as well, but I like that this is a slightly different approach). Finish is much more dry, and not nearly as acidic as I'd expected, which also makes it feel more medium as opposed to light bodied. Bright carbonation still keeps it squarely in its home embrace, though.

I like this one quite a bit, though it was not quite what I was expecting. Tasty stuff, and the more I work through it, the more I like it. .

 

 

 

 

 

 

Briar Heart is Urban Family's boysenberry/raspberry sour. Since I like boysenberries, raspberries, and sours, I should be good to go.

The appearance is raspberry red, with a bit of purple tinge. There's a bit of white head that dissipates quickly. The aroma and the taste are both fruity and tart. The taste is quite dry, really not in the least sweet. And it's pretty tart. You better have an affection for sours. The mouthfeel is bubbly and refreshing.

This isn't a complex beer, with layers of flavor. It's basically exactly what it says it is: a fruity tart wild ale. And it's quite good, assuming you like that kind of stuff. Which I do.

On tap at Super Deli Mart.