Shake Your Diamonds
Woodland Empire Ale Craft

really clever idea for a beer here, a lager with wine grapes from split rail, apparently tons of them, this drinks like a beer/wine hybrid, tons of fruit but the fact that this is a light and crisp and well made lager underneath is also evident, a smart build and great execution. pretty ruby red color on this, tinted just purple, a pretty red wine color from the fruit, not overly dense looking though, and with an average just off white head on it. the nose is tangy and tannic, very pure wine grape expression, more grape than finished wine, which isnt always the case with this sort of thing, light sulfur here too, some breadiness from the lager yeast but not much from the malt, minerals, notes of plum and black cherry too with the grape, as much grape juice as beer almost. the flavor is really interesting, totally unique to me, which i love about woodland empire, always something inspired and original cooking up in here. tangy up front like cranberries and black currants, more vinous in the middle but especially cool in the absence of oak, and more of a beery finish, the yeast at its most flavorful there. in some ways this is super simple, real basic lager with grape is all, but its packed with cool nuance and ends up being one of their best lagers to date, which is saying something if you know anything about how they tend to approach the style! crisp and drinkable and refreshing, great carbonation, four season beer for sure. really good, would love to see this become a series, each featuring a single grape varietal...