Anno Domini MMXVIII
Burial Beer Co.

 

a super strange beer here, their anniversary offering from this year. one of the coolest labels i have seen from these guys, which is really saying something, and one of only a handful of their beers i have ever seen in a bottle instead of a can. its a strong black wild saison aged in brunello barrels and with orange, cocoa, and vanilla, some interesting adds for a bacterially sour brew to say the least. the pour is odd, deep near black color and a little viscosity under an airy off white head, but there is a weird slick sort of greasiness to it, its absolutely packed with chunky sediment, and its carbonation activity seems to dissipate nearly immediately. the amount of sediment is a turn off, its a lot, the size of salt crystals, but this beer smells and tastes awesome. i get a lot of red wine up front, dark cherry and berry, tannins, and oak, with the vanilla working in well at this stage. the cocoa comes out more and more as it warms, especially toward the finish, almost a hot cocoa element, really earthy and chocolaty and delicious. the orange is there too, more of an essence in the background than a real flavor driver. the flavors work well with the dark grain and strong red wine presence, nice clean sourness too, i just wish the whole thing was a little more cleaned up. to me it feels greasy on the palate too, and the sediment is kind of gross, but the flavor is what matters most, and its great. i bet this would be dialed in better if they made it again...