Big Shrug
Fonta Flora Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sample at Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2017, blue session. Crystal clear ruby color. Aroma is fruity with lactic, yogurt notes and some bubblegum. Taste is sour, woody, dry with berries and berry pits. Dry, acidic mouthfeel.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance: Pours murky and mauve, with a reasonably impressive head that fades more rapidly than expected; a few strands of lacing linger

Smell: Fennel forward with blackberries underneath, both acctic and Bretty, with an oaky character, as well

Taste: Quite herbal, from the outset, with the blackberries adding a tart tone underneath; funky Brett elements build through the middle, along with the acetic sourness; the finish is dry and oaky

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with buoyant carbonation

Overall: I would like to have seen more fruit flavor relative to the herbal elements in this beer

From 500ml bottle into tulip glasses.

L: Bottle gushed on opening, but settled down eventually. Nice pink color, a little murky. Head dissipated quickly.
S: Strong flavors of fennel are there, but also the blackberries are present on the nose. Smells a little sweet and fruity, a little herbal.
T: As a contrast to the nose, the taste didn't feature strong flavors of fennel. Features a significant brett character, blackberries, and then a wisp of fennel bitterness on the end. This isn't a sweet beer, it's fairly dry. The berries and fennel remind us of Good and Plenty candies.
F: Fairly thin body, dry, with very active carbonation in the mouth. At first it kind of burned a bit but then mellowed out as it warmed a bit in the glass.
O: I can see how the fennel could have overpowered this beer, but with this amount of age on it, it's morphed into something that transcends this one ingredient. The great nose followed up by a good (but different) taste makes this one a winner.