Wild Series: Tripleberry Sour Red Ale
Sunriver Brewing Company

these barrel aged series beers are pretty special, and i dont think these guys get enough love for this side of their business, at least outside of their home market, but these are relevant in a much wider geography, and it was a true treat to be able to rip into a number of them in the same session, love the creativity and execution across the board! this one is a sour red base in the sort of flanders range, although to me not as mature, acetic, or fruit forward on its own as a proper flanders is, however, that doesnt appear to be the point, and what it isnt quite as a flanders, it sure is as an original concept, aged in quality pinot noir barrels and then refermented on tons of raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries before bottle conditioning with champagne yeast, a nice finish touch i wish more breweries would use, that yeast always makes these bottles sing, and this one certainly does, it lightens and brightens it, a really smart call there. this is wildly fruit forward, tart and funky too, jammy but only a little bit sweet, and really unique with the red ale base and the pinot barrel treatment, loved it! pretty packaging and pretty pour here, high and thick just off white head slow fading, stained glass toned ruby colored, indeed pinot noir looking, just a little sediment towards the bottom, but sparkling for sure. the aroma and flavor on this work together, blueberry and red wine tannins together make my mouth water, the red wine acidity and the sourness from the ferment also work really well together, this isnt exceedingly sour by any stretch, even before the fruit sweetens it up a little bit. the blackberry adds depth, a neat synergy with the richer malt there, there is some red ale character still at the center of this, lightly sweet, a baked warmth, autumnal in a way, a cherry thing maybe in there as well, light raisin, also cool with the wine layer. to me raspberry is the least robust of the fruits but it also has its moment, quite early in the flavor, and it adds a complimentary tang too. the champagne yeast makes the vinous part of this pop even more, and it adds dryness and subtle fruitiness as well, the beer is beautifully conditioned and very effervescent in the glass. i love the blueberry factor, its so unique in here, and the pinot noir barrel is ideal for this, huge impact. tart but not super acidic, some funkiness too, pink florals, light mustiness, and general fermentation interest with the champagne yeast factored in too. notes of sour cherry and cranberry juice, apple cider vinegar, high end red wine, and perfectly ripe summer berries all coalesce at the end, just tremendous!