Berkshire Sour Ale
Berkshire Brewing Company

 

Had this on tap at the Armsby Abbey as part of their BBC Sours. When its gone, its gone! This had been aged an additional 6 months in their cellar. From notes on 8/18

A - Deep rust/amber color with half a finger head which leaves nice thick lacing

S - Has a nice yeasty funk aroma along with sour malts.

T - Sour, tart, great malt finish! Getting that nice sour cherry flavor all so prevalent throughout BBC's sour.

M - Medium carbonation but still having a silky smooth mouthfeel.

D - Really good. Has the sour, the malts, the creamyness, just so much going for this ale. Has a slight, slight dry finish that really helps to accent the sourness.

22oz hand bottled bomber poured into a plastic pint glass.

Pours a sark hazy brown with a very thin an small head. Nose is sour tart and very full of vinegar.

Taste is sooo tart it's all vineat. Very hard to drink but really funky and tart. So odd and young, skip this if you find it.

Had on tap @ Armsby Abbey during Craft Beer week.

A: Fluffy 1 finger head fades at a medium pace over a hazy dark murky reddish brown colored beer.

N: Sour malts galore! Some sour fruits, touch of yeast, little sweet syrupy malts, touch of crystal, and slight porter aroma. Mostly a nice soured malt aroma.

T: Malts! Little creamy porter like flavor, some sour fruits, pretty light overall, some light ale flavors, nice soured malts. A little sour cherry and blended fruit flavors, some bourbon and a little oak barrel flavor, a touch of sweetness and little creamy.

M: Medium to lighter body with decent carbonation.

F: Drier on the finish, with a little more bourbon and oak, touch of vanilla, lingering sour almost like a blend of sour fruit and porter or brown ale. A touch of sticky sweetness, little tangy and flemmy lingering flavors, with a little lingering porter roast.

On-tap at Armsby Abbey for Beer Geek Week, not sure how long this plans to be around. Seems like Berkshire has put out at least 4 sours recently but this read on the board as "Berkshire BBC Sour Ale". Pours a hazy copper orange, small white head turns into a ring over time. Leaves a bit of thin lacing up and down the glass.

Smell is a bit faint, mostly picking up citrus and fruits in general. I'm picking up a bit of sourness but it's not up-front.

Taste is better than the scent hints towards. Sourness is kind of on the down-low and replaced with a good amount of funk. I get lots of funky citrus and wheat and a big dark fruit and vanilla vibe in the aftertaste, and maybe more I can't pinpoint. The flavors seem to fade after a bit but this is still pretty solid tasting.

Mouthfeel is pretty good, lower on the carbonation than usual for a a sour. It seems like booze kicks in sometimes but could be just a weirdness from the taste.

Very drinkable for a wild ale, almost drinks more like a saison to me. This won't make you pucker up I would think. Great price too ($6 for a full pint glass). The aftertaste is great and I wish it lasted the whole time. Pretty good overall, I will probably get it again if I see it around.