Golden Cluster
Breakside Brewery - SE Taproom

neat idea, a blend of a couple of barrel aged wild beers with 35% riesling juice added, i love this sort of thing, have had this in the cellar awhile, and was certain it would be amazing, coming from breakside and all, but frankly it was one of the weaker selections from our grape beer night last night, not as refined as expected, a little sloppy even, quite thick and hazy on the pour, dull and still looking, tons of sediment at the bottom of the bottle, unexcited. the nose is sweet, more malty than expected, definitely mature, i get some honey out of it there, and the sweetness of this particular grape, but im not sure i can identify it as riesling specifically, its also quite sour to me, mouthwatering, lightly funky, hits of white tea and peach as well. the flavor is grape forward, woody, minerals in the mix, a little lazy to me though, like the base beers in the blend arent that interesting or refined despite the maturity, the grape is integrated but doesnt take it anywhere special, and the whole thing just seems saggy to me, carbonation and quality. perhaps its old, we are getting close to its best by date, but this kind of beer should be pretty good over time. lingering sweetness with its sourness, boozy, an elderflower liqueur note, honey, biscuit, bread yeast, i dont know, i like it but i wanted to love it, its rough around the edges and not the epic experience i hoped it would be. not a miss, but a rare unspectacular offering from breakside. sick packaging though!