Fox In The Snow
Off Color Brewing

2023-10-27
250ml bottle served in a little tulip-like glass. If there's a date, I don't see it. Bought it at Chuck's Hop Shop Seward Park.

Pours a slightly cherry reddish-amber with a small, slightly-pink-tinged head. Smell is tart, sweet-tarts, definite cherry, smells quite nice.

Taste is tart cherries, some stems-and-skins kind of must flavor, some oak and funk, a little chardonnay butteriness comes out late.

Mouthfeel is medium, smooth, kind of slick. Overall, very tasty beer.

 

No bottling date but I think 2019 release.
Consumed 08/25/21

Off Color knows their wild ales and this hits the mark again. I could just sit and smell this all day. The taste follows with a wonderfully complex note. It's a tad more sour than I'd prefer ideally. I love the higher ABV than other wild ales too. I have another bottle or two that I'm sitting on to see how it ages. I hope they brew this again though. Next time I'll open it up against some of my favorite krieks to see who wins.

a gorgeous strong kriek type in borolo barrels here, one of the first small bottles this shape i have seen from these guys, and just a stunning specimen overall, huge thanks to my buddy for scoring these in chicago and bringing them out west to share with me. lots of miles on them, but man, well worth whatever effort he went through to make them a reality! a little murky from the bottle, a deep ruby red color and a short airy soda head on it, some good color density and lots of body evident. the aroma is puckery from the cherries, which really pop in here, lightly medicinal, quite sour, and with lemon and purple grape notes all around them, a hint of malty sweetness here helps keep it balanced, a little cider vinegar sourness too makes my mouth water. lots of fruit in the flavor here too, the grape element from the wine is almost as strong as the cherry to me, which is amazing, and they go so well together, tangy and sweet on the cherry side now, rich and tannic from the wine, lots of oak here too, a bit more malt depth than i am used to in more traditional kriek types, and a little more alcohol too. its really sour, i am glad to be sharing the little bottle, but the flavors are really complex, a little more wild than i have known in other off color beers like this, the oak vessels obviously contribute a lot to this. its very mature, complex, and full of flavor, and i think its another wonderful beer from these guys, who never seem to get the credit they deserve for such creative, well executed, and beautifully packaged beers. i love the borolo meeting the cherry in this, a gorgeous beer through and though!

 

 

375ml bottle, poured into a stemless wine glass. Enjoyed on 05.04.19, reviewed from Tasting Notes.

The beer pours a blood read color, thick with ruby hues and a foamy off white head that has little height and offers minimal retention and lacing. The aroma is decent, funky with a lot of cherry and spice, soft oak with light citrus peel but there is a very strong plastic quality that comes out and begins to overtake this as it warms. The flavors are unharmed by the plastic aroma and are quite delicious. Rich cherry, tart, jammy and fresh with a nice pie spice and hearty oak with light grain, a touch of lemon peel and just a hint of vinegar. The mouthfeel is very good, coating, thicker medium body that's tart and dry with a nice lively texture and a tart finish.

Verdict: A good fruited wild ale from Off Color. Definitely getting the traditional kriek influences and flavors and while the nose is a bit of a let down in terms of how plastic like it gets, the flavors really deliver. Balanced, jammy, rich and pie like, this was a very nice take on the fruited lambic.