Infrared Nebula
Belching Beaver Pub 980

kind of a quad meets a wild ale here, very interesting offering from these guys, easily the most ambitious beer i can remember even hearing of from them, three years in red wine barrels with currants, blackberries, raspberries and cherries, definitely mature and funky, puckery but not overly sour, really woody and heavy to drink even with the acid, very complex, a sipper to say the least. syrupy looking from the tap, cough syrup berry color to it underneath the dark toned malts of the base quad, which is not really recognizable as a belgian style beer in any way, but the malt is right for that kind of thing, and the booziness here enhances that in a regal kind of way, even if the wine, the fruit, and the unique fermentation profile take it more into the wild realm. cherry leads the fruit side for me, with a little raisin thing from the grain in there, blackberry and plum notes as well, lots of fruitiness from the wine here, and somewhat medicinal and sharp from the currants which lightens it a little at the end, tannins everywhere, some brett, lots of bacterial tang, hints of smoke, leather, and cocoa too, but i wouldnt call this rich. fuller feel, a little still for me, and thoroughly alcoholic. as such, not really something i want more than a small pour of, but a cool beer to encounter, super old and fruity and interesting, and i applaud these guys for doing something so process intensive. their star has been rising for me recently as i get exposed to more of their work...