Blackberry Apricot Sour
Iron Goat Brewing Co.

only listed at 5.2% abv when i was in, this must vary quite a bit from batch to batch. pinkish orange, a little cloudy, very little head from the tap, perhaps a little thick looking for a sour like this, but with a fun nose where both fruits are evident, there is some jammy sweet cohesion, a relatively clean lemony sourness in the mid range in terms of intensity, and my mouth does water a little bit. the flavors sag just a bit compared to the nose, maybe cut down by the high acidity some, but the fruit seems kind of muddled together, generically sweet, and not all the way natural, less appealing than the nose, more apricot than blackberry to me, and the tidiness of the sourness comes into question too, just a little sweatiness to it, more as it warms, not offensive, but not as clean as it smells like it is. fuller wheaty feel, a hint of fruit vinegar sharpness to the souring profile, and with a little residual sugar keeping it on the palate awhile after each sip. not bad, but this isnt their best beer, not even in this style, they do a lot of things amazingly well, and this one ended up kind of middling for me, its a neat combination of fruits, but the execution seems a half step below their usual high level. i couldnt drink more than one of these i dont think, fun flavors but its imperfect in a couple of ways...

 

 

 

 

12oz pour into a snifter, consumed at Iron Goat for $5. Stopped by to get a growler fill of the Mosaic IPA and was hoping the Gin Barrel-Aged Head Butt would be on. It wasn't, but I realized I'd never reviewed this. According to the chalkboard, this clocks in at 6.5% abv, with a whopping 16 IBUs.

This was a semi-opaque color somewhere between honey and pink, with a thin, white head.

Fruity aroma, basically an amalgam of the two fruits found in the name. I get a touch of grapes as well.

To me, the taste is apricot forward, but the blackberries are present in good quantity just behind the apricots. I'd like to ask one of the brewers if they've tweaked it a bit over the last couple years. When IG first released this a couple years ago I felt the blackberries didn't emerge until the end. Things are pleasing tart but not too terribly sour. This might be a good gateway sour.

The body is somewhere between light and medium. The mouthfeel is somewhere between coating and "cotton-mouthy", which reminds me of fruit juice, which I suppose this could be considered a variation of!

This is an easygoing but enjoyable sour beer. As I mentioned above, I think the apricots and blackberries meld together more than they did when they first debuted this. A nice choice when I walk into Iron Goat and am in the mood for something off the hoppy track.