Bier de Coupage
Cellarmaker Brewing Co. - The Rare Barrel

A: Poured into a tulip glass to a bright yellow beer that's topped by a dense and fluffy two fingers of white head which fades slowly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of chalky yeast, hints of funk, and a touch of orchard fruits
T: Taste is slightly tart on entry with some chalky yeast, funk, orchard fruits, and a little citrus. A touch herbal at times with a hint of band aids as well. On the finish there's more light tartness, funk, peppery spice, and light fruits
M: This beer has a body which is on the lighter side of medium. Carbonation is slightly prickly and effervescent while the beer has a drying finish.
O: Overall this is a really nice beer with some great flavors and a nice amount of complexity. The low acidity also makes it very approachable. It also held up well to about 5 years of storage.

a friend and member here told me they recently scrapped their house culture and started fresh, as it had basically gotten way too sour, the beers were cellaring poorly, and they heard this feedback and did something about it. if thats true, its amazing, as i too agree that their beer was becoming too sour to drink most of the time. this one here certainly lends credence that that theory, as its hands down the least acidic rare barrel i have ever had, not even close. its packed with the oak and yeast nuance i have always wanted and rarely found in these beers, and as such, its one of my favorites from them in a really long time, maybe since i was first exposed to their beer. its a blend of a young saison and a wood aged mixed fermentation beer, smells and tastes truly wild to me on that side, but not sure if its actually spontaneous beer or not in the blend. its golden and lively from the bottle, emits strong aromas of white wine, cut flowers, and farmy brett, with subtle stone fruit and pineapple there as well. i get esters of a belgian saison yeast here too, apples and pears and white grapes, its super subtle too, yeast driven and complex, but mild all the way, amazingly drinkable, especially for these guys, i could drink this whole bottle by myself happily. nice relaxed wood in here, some tropical essences, a touch of sweetness too, even a banana note coming on late, some hay and straw, light pepper, its awesome. great texture too, not acidic at all, brightly carbonated, and very layered for being so light. its awesome that a brewery this well established was willing to make a change like this, and it really pays off with this one. my favorite beer from them in a really long time! awesome stuff.