Sequoia's Gift
MadTree Brewing

What a unique beer - Belgian, brett, red wine. Light bodied, unique wine characteristics, but there was a strange after taste. As I sipped for 30+ minutes, I finally placed it - Hot Tamales. How in the world does a Belgian wine barrel-aged beer produce that cinnamon waxy flavor...must be the brett. Definitely worth trying, such a fun journey with MadTree Brewing.

The craft beer world isn't a safe one most of the time. It's a world of high risk, high reward. So placing a Belgian styled golden ale into red wine puncheons is a zag when all expectations were to zig. Fermented exclusively with a proprietary bretanomyces strain might not be God's gift to beer drinkers...

But it is Sequoia's Gift. The wild ale pours with a rich peachy gold color and cast in a densely wheaten haze. As its spritzy, frothy foam rises, the nose catches a drift of moderate fermented funk over a bed of wine, dried tropical fruit, weathered citrus and a certain brininess of the sea. Gentle sweetness glosses the tongue with an extension of wheat into sourdough, creamy and taffy-like sweetness.

While the brazen bubbles start to carry away the sweetness, what falls into its wake is the earthen acidity that plays boldly on the middle palate with musty lime, lemon and white grapefruit. The richness of pineapple and pawpaw follows closely behind as the ale falls deeper into a souring late palate of driftwood, pepper, moss and damp burlap.

Medium light on the palate, the beer's exclusive use of wild yeast allows the rustic ale to retain a creamy taste and texture that both supports and balances the brisk acidity. All the while a return of sun basked oak, saddle leather and damp cellar conditions seem to amplify in a short but pungent afterglow.

 

Look - Great looking orangish cooper color
Smell - tart strong and sweet
Taste - lots of booze but definetlh tart sour taste. Has a great citrus tangerine taste
Feel - medium body with a medium light carb
Overall - fantastic!