Sour Golden Ale
Backacre Beermakers

 

Very long time want of mine. Didn't get it while it was still being produced in VT, but was surprised to see a small drop in the Boston area that was brewed at their new Denver location. Appearance is classic golden ale, little haze to speak of and a relatively small white head that doesn't last too long. The aromas and flavors are very similar to the high quality ciders that are produced by, say, Eden or Fable: bright apple-y character (in this case brought on by the yeast esters), a cleanly light tartness, and almost no residual sweetness. Good amount of effervescence. The $30/750ml price I paid is the absolute upper limit of what I'd be willing to pay for this, but it is worth it

90/100

 

Cloudy golden pour with a white collar. Classic sour golden ale yeast and funk, with light tangerine, white grape, and lemon in nose. Fantastic taste too, sour and acidic citrus but not overly so given the strong yeast and funk, has a hint of earthy spice, lemon, and pear. Feel is yeasty and airy with good funk and must, oak backbone is bright, sourness if refined, beautiful. A throw back golden ale that hits all the right notes.

 

Poured from a bottle (blend 13) into a applewine glass

L: pours a highly carbonated (but not a gusher) clear darker golden yellow (srm ~3) with a thick and loud white head that fades after a couple minutes. Tight, quick, and consistent visible carbonation. Basically no head left

S: this is a beautiful, balanced, and light lambic-style nose. Great notes of peach, white grape, light lemon with an undercurrent of barnyard funk and some slight cheesy aged hops character. Oak and earthiness adds great complexity and depth to what's at first a very light aroma. Funk builds as it's warmed in the glass in a solid, balanced way. Slight hay, under-baked bread, uric acid, over-steeped tea

T: jeez, this is just excellent. Follows the nose extremely well, with this fresh pressed apple cider / white grape juice flavor that builds wonderfully in complexity and depth. Those fruit notes from the nose (peach, white grape, tease of lemon) all come through, giving way to those earthier/funkier lambic notes in the middle. Fruit and funk mixes well through the long finish, great acidity throughout. More of that funk as it's warmed, beer evolves nicely in the glass

F: medium- body, medium+/high- carbonation. Very light and effervescent, refreshing, drinkable

O: I am madly in love with this beer. It delivers such light, beautiful fruit character with balanced funk and wonderful acidity. Champagne-esque with some funk

 

 

 

 

 

 

B12 bottle cracked 9/6/19 in a snifter:

Deep ureic clear golden with some bubbles rising.

Complex and peculiar smell. Sone spice. Some earth. Tart. Dander. Oak.

Very oak. Tart n sour but more citrus than acetic. Lightest hop hint.

Feels great. Fizzy entry on the tongue. Pretty full body. Nice and smooth withiut a hint of 7-8%. Pale and subdued carb off the back.

Overall very impressive and balanced beer. Will try 2nd bottle in a year or so.

 

 

 

Backacre Sour Golden Ale

Look: Translucent, crystal clear golden straw color. This beer looks like apple juice. Some bubbles streaming toward the top. A foamy bone white head falls as quickly as it rises, leaving zero head and lacing.

Smell: Granny Smith apple, less apple cider, and even less apple cider vinegar. I don’t want to give the impression that this beer is anywhere close to being overly acetic. But there are hints of that profile. Peach, apricot, pear, lemon juice. Herbal notes including lemon grass, bay leaf. A slight must. Mostly fruity, some floral notes and some earth.

Taste: This beer is acidic. At first I thought it was dry, but as I drink it more it seems less dry to me. Apple cider, apple cider vinegar, white vinegar, lemon juice, Granny Smith apple skin, white peach, purple/tart blueberry, white grape, grapefruit juice and pith.

Mouthfeel: Low carbonation but bubbly enough.

Overall: This is a very nice beer. As far as barrel aged golden sour ales go, its got more of an apple cider aspect to it then I’m used to. I like that flavor, and it makes the beer stand out. Is it the most complex beer in this style I’ve had? No, if that’s what your looking for. When I say cider I’m thinking along the lines of something like Domaine Dupont. It’s fruity, floral and somewhat earthy.

 

batch 12

wonderful funky and earthy aromas, oak.

palate is similar with a funky fruit characteristic throughout, wonderful level of acidity, medium+ but not overbearing. oak and vanilla complimenting the tart lemon and underripe peach notes, musty apricot skin and a pleasant grain character throughout. wonderfully balanced, enjoyed this a lot, especially as it warmed and opened up with even more complexity.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one pours a slightly opaque light yellow, with a small head, and only a little bit of lacing- it looks pretty lightly carbonated.

This has a great stone fruit wild funk to it, with sweet tarts, lemon rind, and grassy funk.

It's crazy that this beer isn't fruited, because there's such a distinct stone fruit character to this. There's a hint of oak, with some white wine and grape character, but the dominant character is definitively fuzzy peach and sweet apricot.

This is pretty lightly carbonated, giving this a very soft and velvet feel. There's a pretty high level of drinkability, due to the lack of a lingering sourness on the palate.

There aren't many breweries out there that only make one beer. But when that one beer is as good as this one, I guess you can get away with it.

 

 

 

 

 

Got this on a tip from a bottle shop owner in Vermont. Man what a score! It’s is one of the better sours I’ve had. Absolutely delicious. Have 2 more aging in my closet. Going to hold out for next summer if I can!

 

Sample from the bottle at Beer Meets Wood.
Hazy golden color with a decent bubbly white head.
Earthy light funk with plenty of tart fruits to counter. Clean well crafted stateside "gueuze" Completely impressed with this offering, I went back for seconds.