Apropos Of Nothing
The Rare Barrel

Apropos Of NothingApropos Of Nothing
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From:
The Rare Barrel
 
California, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
Ranked #136
ABV:
5.6%
Score:
95
Ranked #1,616
Avg:
4.29 | pDev: 7.46%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
188
Status:
Active
Rated:
Apr 29, 2022
Added:
Oct 17, 2014
Wants:
  51
Gots:
  21
golden sour beer aged in oak barrels with elderberries and lavender
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by HopsintheSack:
Photo of HopsintheSack
Reviewed by HopsintheSack from California

3.58/5  rDev -16.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours deep red color with a light head that quickly disappears.

Smells very fruity. Strong berry jam odors with a slight lavender smell hidden in there.

The taste is very fruity with the lingering lavender taste showing up towards the end of the sip. Taste just like fruit punch in my opinion, but with the lavender at the end. Just like the smell. No sourness at all, maybe a bit tart, but almost nothing that makes me feel like its a sour. More of a fruit beer.

I found this to be a bit under carbed from where I would have preferred. Left it a bit syrupy and coating in the mouth.

Overall the fruit flavors and overall taste was great. I was really disappointed with the lack of sour or tartness. Also could have had more carbonation to thin out the coating feel.
Apr 03, 2015
More User Ratings:
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +4.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: Poured into a Duvel tulip to a reddish tinted beer which is topped by a finger of pink colored head which fades fairly quickly without a trace
S: Smells of lavendar and oak with some fruity sourness
T: Taste is elderberries, lavendar and oak with some nice sourness throughout along with a touch of funk. On the swallow there's more lavendar, elderberries, dry oak, light funk and lingering sourness
M: This beer has a body which is on the lighter side of medium and slightly creamy. Carbonation is light and slightly effervescent while the beer has a drying finish due to the acidity.
O: Overall this is a very good beer. Really nice flavors and complexity with everything working well together. I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened this but everything about this beer is top notch.
Apr 29, 2022
 
Rated: 4.5 by bigred89 from Maryland

Apr 05, 2020
 
Rated: 4.25 by RiceOwls27 from Texas

Apr 03, 2020
 
Rated: 4.18 by Beer21 from Florida

Mar 30, 2020
Photo of REVZEB
Reviewed by REVZEB from Illinois

4.31/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
I remember reading about this beer a while ago, thinking to myself how neat it would be to try beer from the rare barrel. They have come to be one of my favorite sour breweries, and this one is a reason why. Murky brown with mauve tinting, a dark white collar with lazy lacing sit atop the beer. Smell is very pleasant: berries are pure with both juice and skin, lavender does well not to overpower into grandma's cupboard territory, and the oak shine through well. The taste is not as nimble as the smell, more oak souring for sure, with the elderberry being jammy before the lavender, yeast, and flowers add some complexity to break it up. Nice work to capture the depth of the elderberry, which in it self is a divisive ingredient. Feel matches the flavoring, shall we call it apropos? Medium tartness, smooth, plenty of oak tannins, and a kiss of acidity. Perfect for a wet day as winter turns into spring
Jan 03, 2020
Photo of Sammy
Reviewed by Sammy from Canada (ON)

3.98/5  rDev -7.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Elderberry is not necessarily the best tasting or smelling fruit. Drinkability depends on the supporting cast, and one would expect oak to be better than lavender. Oak not so present, but still a good sipper.
Dec 22, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by Jsalz21 from New Jersey

Nov 11, 2019
Photo of cjgiant
Reviewed by cjgiant from District of Columbia

4.19/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Bottle:
A ruby to burgundy pour came from the bottle, bringing a light pink froth from the bottom of the glass. The latter becomes a large ring and eventually just a few spots of lace.

The smell of berry was quick to hit my nose as I poured. I didn't get any lavender initially, but a closer inspection of the aroma shows the lavender is far from a hidden component. I can't say this beer smells of elderberry, not knowing that specific berry's aroma, but I get a mix or blackberry, blueberry, and cranberry. The fact this is a sour might mean some of those notes are not directly from the berry.

There's a little sharp acidity up from, then the berry medley flavors come through. The carbonation is a little stronger than expected, joining the tartness to increase the bite a little. When this passes, the tartness dulls and a little lavender-accented earthiness escorts my taste buds across the oak floor to the end taste.

Nice mix of flavors, a little more tart than the bottle led me to believe, which is fine. The feel was the only off thing for me - a little bit heavy on the carbonation.
Nov 03, 2019
Photo of VABA
Reviewed by VABA from Virginia

4.4/5  rDev +2.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
A-Pours a ruby color with a slight head and lacing
A-Aroma has sourness, elderberry and lavender hints
T-The taste follows the nose with a sir, elderberry and lavender flavor
M-A medium bodied well carbonated beer
O-A good American Wild Ale
Oct 04, 2019
Photo of bobv
Reviewed by bobv from Vermont

4.31/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
2019 Vintage.
6.8% abv.
25.4 oz bottle.
Moderate to vigorous pour yields a 1/2 inch light pink head over a pinot noir colored body with some lacing. Nose of elderberries, grapefruit, and very slight lavender. As it warms, the lavender becomes more pronounced on the nose. Taste mirrors smell as the lavender comes forward with a really nice gentle sourness and acidity right through the finish of elderberry tannins. Nice feel and overall, a very pleasant experience and would definitely recommend and have again. Cheers!!
Sep 23, 2019
 
Rated: 4.44 by Ice_Cream_And_IPAs from New York

Jul 27, 2019
 
Rated: 4.18 by dsshuck from Delaware

Jul 18, 2019
 
Rated: 3.3 by cmurphy7 from Massachusetts

Jun 23, 2019
 
Rated: 4.41 by paulish from New York

Jun 12, 2019
 
Rated: 4.47 by themayorkoch from Ohio

Dec 01, 2018
 
Rated: 3.77 by SierraFlight from Virginia

Jul 02, 2018
 
Rated: 3.75 by t2grogan from Arizona

May 05, 2018
 
Rated: 4.39 by nataku00 from California

Feb 12, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by jgunther71 from Illinois

Sep 29, 2017
Apropos Of Nothing from The Rare Barrel
Beer rating: 95 out of 100 with 188 ratings