Canvas Series: Sandiaca
Wicked Weed Brewing

Given to me by a friend at the Funkatorium itself, and poured into a stemmed tulip glass. Review written on napkin at the time, posting it now.

L - Slightly hazy amber, with zero head. Decent lacing.
S - Cedar, basil, and juicy watermelon. Herbal.
T - Follows nose. Heavy emphasis on the watermelon. Hints of juniper and basil. Floral. Herbal. On the sweeter end throughout, with a balanced finish. Tart.
F - Medium-bodied, with light carbonation. Refreshing, and super drinkable.
O - Man, this brew would hit the spot in the spring at an outdoor party! Wish I could've gotten more of a gin flavor out of it, but it really came together at the end of the day. Worth a try for sure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smell is all watermelon in the best, most authentic and subtle way.

Beer improves as it warms in the glass.

Thank you Steban for this
500 ml bottle, dated 3.8.18, poured into a tulip

A- A slightly hazy cooler with a two finger white head.

S- Tart, watermelons, some basil, some gin, oak, some jolly rancher sweetness.

T- Sour, gin, basil, mild funk, some watermelons, lemons.

M- Smooth, light body.

O- An interesting sour.

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy burnt orange color with a one finger head; splashy lacing

Smell: An interesting blend of lactic acidity, watermelon rind and basil, encompassed by gin barrel and juniper

Taste: Lactic acidity blends with the gin barrel flavors, up front, with the watermelon rind and basil peeking into the profile; funky and increasingly acetic, in the middle; all of the flavors blend together in the finish

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation; somewhat puckery

Overall: I am not gin barrel beer lover so this is not something I would try again; still, the selection of watermelon and basil adjuncts makes for a very interesting combination

 

Part of @Dragginballs76's box of goodies during NBS BIF #8.

Body is mostly opaque with perhaps a mildly ruddy tinge to the dark golden/amber/sappy presence it gives off. This sounds grosser than I mean it, but it kind of reminds me of cloudy piss that would dip heme positive... but not super heme positive. Good solid finger of soapy white bubbles that settles in in short order to give the ring and a single pangeal continent.

Really interesting. Nose is lightly funky and definitely watermellony. There's both elements of watermelon here... both a light fresh watermelon, but much moreso is watermelon jolly rancher. The basil can be found peeking in from corners, shyly, and serves to kind of bridge the gap between the wild character and the watermelon. There's also a pretty significant... almost cucumber layer in there as well that accompanies that bridging basil note. I don't think I've ever smelled anything quite like this in a beer before. As it warms, the watermelon transitions more towards the fresh melon and away from the starkly sweet jolly rancher. Also more of the cucumber (from the gin barrels?) comes forward.
To sum: watermelon jolly rancher, cucumber, wild funk, and the basil spiciness peeking in at the corners.

Starts off with a burst of bright funk with edges of sweet watermelon. Very lush. Maybe some of the gin botanicals filling in the crevices, but I could be making that up. Finish recommits to the tart tart with a slight wash of fresh watermelon and a touch of the oily part of basil that's kind of like mint.

Incredibly full and lush and smoothe. Solidly tart with the tiny blanket of prickly carbonation appropriate for the style. I imagine the smoothe/creamy character comes from the barrels... I've had a couple of gin barrel beers recently and I have been consistently impressed with the character it imparts. I hope more breweries begin experimenting with gin barrels as pretty much ever gin barrel beer I've had has benefited significantly from that barreling.

I'll be honest, I expected this one to be gimmicky and potentially just kind of weird. I was very very impressed and enjoyed it immensely (even if it is AB-Inbev at its heart. Damn you taste buds for belying my prejudices!). Thank Mike for sending this along and giving me a chance to experience a really well done something I never would have otherwise tried!

An interesting, refreshing beer with a ton of fresh, non-artificial watermelon aroma. However, I didn't pick up very much basil or gin barrel at all which was disappointing.