J. Marie - Barreled And Bretted
River North Brewery

 

 

 

Bottled in 2013, #11/360. Poured from the bottle into a snifter, the beer pours a bright, vibrant, slightly hazed, orange-peach coloring with an initial foamy, low profile head that quickly disappears. Still some carbonation fizz on the pour, but that quickly settles out into a few lone trails in the body. The aromas are dry red grapes and wine notes forward, with a strong bready backbone, tangy sugar sweet highlights, sour and tannins, very subtle yeast funk, and some mild apricot and tangerine. There is some must and wood highlighting throughout the nose, as well. Flavors are a solid blend of berries and cherries forward, with a vanilla undertone, woody highlights, sour and tart grape accents, some earthy and musty notes, extremely subtle Belgian spices, and hints of apricot. Pretty smooth and mellow, with a building warmth as you drink. The body is full and robust, but still with a dry underlay that really keeps the drinkability up. I wonder how much this has mellowed over the years, because it is an extremely smooth drinker. The aftertaste is more of the bread and fruit, but with a toasted edge to it. The finish is slick and smooth, with a tangy sweet and slightly sour linger, with some citrus notes kicking around at the end, too. Tasty damn beer!

 

 

 

Thanks to GRG1313 for sharing this one at his tasting.

2013 vintage. Bottle # 289/360.

Pours a hazy honey orange with a foamy bone head that settles to a partial film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form aroud the glass on the drink down. Smell is slightly sour with malt, fruit, Brett, and wood aromas. Taste is much the same with sour malt, fruit, Brett, red wine, and wood flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of acidity on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that has a slightly better set of smells in my opinion.

 

on tap at hops and pie, those folks to a great job with their beer program. this is the funkiest j. marie yet, redder in color than i remember and trying to hold on to a half inch of white micro bubble head. below the surface the beer looks still and new penny shiny. its got a nice of saison yeast first and brett second, but the oak has done a lot to this, sweet vanilla tones and white wine esters from the yeast are potent, the brett dries the whole think out and adds some funk, but is far less invasive than i anticipated. fuller body than i remember too, and despite looking a bit flat, the bubbles rise up nicely when i hold it in my mouth. i find it to be quite complex and satisfying overall, although i think the belgian yeast is too dominant. its not saison-esque enough, and its too powerful for the more subtle brett to really do its thing in terms of flavor. the beer is great though, and i love how many ways it has been done now, i think each one has brought something unique to the table. cool mix of yeasts, nice on tap.