Moonburst
Rhinegeist Brewery

 

 

The advancement of sour ale is a particular folly for the Rhinegeist team. But their success isn't totally realized without turning to the complexity, the charm and the rustic refinement of fruit forward Belgian Lambic.

Orchard fruit and stone fruit largely frame the identity for Moonburst as it pours a racy, hazy champagne appearance, topped with a loose and zesty froth. A faint must of weathered woods accompany the tangy scent of citrus, tropical fruit, peach and apricot. A gentle drift of sea air, damp burlap and dried cork quickly lead into a taste of wafer, agave, taffy and light breadiness in a quickly fleeting malty upstart.

The flavors really get started as the sour ale bursts over the middle palate. The sourness of apricot and nectarine come in a dried and musty form for a succulent, tangy and condensed fruit flavor. The sour ale underneath the fruit pops through with its own white wine, sharp cider, gooseberry, lime, lemon and yuzu flavors that ensure a brisk acidity that causes the senses to step back. Trailing with the same retro-olfactory sensations of brine, leather and oak that was foreshadowed in the nose, a light hay-like bitterness teases the late palate.

Nearly puckering and with a slow tightening of the jaws, the light bodied beer has all the hallmarks of complex sour ales, but their earthen intensities are muted and its fruit flavor is slightly white washed, limiting the beer only in its own depth of taste. Still, beers like this elevate the American Sour Ale well beyond that of the adopted gose or berlinerweiss.