El Cuatro with Sour Cherries
The Ale Apothecary

a special edition of the famed el cuatro pouring via a cask at their bend taproom, a real treat that i believe is a real limited thing, certainly was a cool treat to encounter when we were in! the base beer is strong, malt driven, barrel heavy, and really funky. reddish now with the cherry, close to still looking in this format, dense and leggy, with a crazy tang to the nose. i get port wine with the cherries, brandy from the barrel ageing, some well set in bretty farmy funk, some flemish-esque red wine vinegar that makes my mouth water, and lots of wood and rich grains, toffee, bran, and even like a wood fired crust are present. the flavor is amazingly complex, and for everything thats happening in the glass, its still fermentation forward, uniquely funky and tart, like others i have known from these guys, but really mature and well established, loaded with oak and red wine character, and the pucker from the sour cherries seems to exacerbate the acidity and perceived sourness of this, which is pretty high as it warms up. the fruit is awesome though, and really changes the overall dynamic of this beer, like a good kriek blended into a quad or something. the malts still have some sweetness, so there is great balance here, and the rustic funkiness is persistent through the finish, as is the booze. i like this in the cask format, more bubbles would be distracting, and i like what the cherries bring to the beer. a very cool special edition i feel lucky to have been able to drink. these guys are really doing some special beers!