Ol' Dirty Fashioned
Transient Artisan Ales

@FlintB sent this along as part of NBS BIF#007 with the twist that it was the mystery beer he included. Wrapped in paper so I couldn't see what it was the idea was to drink and review it blind, and so that's what I've done here.

Muddy copper/amber pour. Rusty. Thing line of off white around the collar is about it for head here.

Tart with sweet/spicy notes and a heavy influence of cherry

Sour cherries with a curious sweet streak, along with wood and a little bit of spice. There's something super familiar about this, but I can't quite place what it reminds me of (and a specific other beer that carries this same note, also that I can't place in my memory). There's a creaminess to it as well where it feels like the harsh notes have been sanded off. The build that in a different beer would culminate in a harsh sour note (not harsh in a negative sense, just harsh in terms of how aggressive it is), instead of plateaus into a creamy juice/spice. I get a decent amount of vanilla as it builds to this as well, though that could be partly association with the cherries/creamy notes as it reminds me of a vanilla cherry yogurt I like to include with my lunches.
As it warms, the smoothe creaminess yields to let the tart acidity come through more.

Gentle carbonation doesn't get in the way, and the finish is the cherries and that creaminess with sweet inflections sprinkled in.

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Upon writing the above thoughts down I unwrapped the bottle and saw what it was (hence how I knew to chart it here). Now seeing exactly what it is/is supposed to be I can see where my experience charts with what they intended, and where there is divergence.
The cherries definitely take the main stage here, and some of the supporting notes make a little more sense now as well. The spicy notes I was getting are probably from the rye, the wood and vanilla probably originate with the barrel (though I didn't really get any *bourbon* per se... now finishing the glass even knowing to look for it I'm not really finding bourbon. Which is fine! It's quite good even without it. Just an observation). The orange juice, now that I know to look for it, seems to serve primarily as sweet juicy support/contrast for the sweet/tart aspects of the cherries, as well as contributing a certain amount of acidity. This is the second brew in a row I've had from Michigan, from Brian that has utilized orange juice, and it's an interesting and new to me way to approach adding acidity.

Thanks Brian for sending this along!