Assembly Required V4 - Raspberry and Peach
Forbidden Root - Chicago

 

 

 

with all the new categories here on BA, we still dont seem to have one for american kettle sour, which is what this surely is, not a wild ale, but its probably closer to that than to an american ipa with all this stuff going on in it. an ipa only in the very loosest sense of the term. this has lactose and vanilla and raspberry and peach in it, which is a curious combination of fruits, even in a dessert ipa. i like them together, tartness and tang of the raspberry with a jammy intensity and then the sweet juicy fleshy peach with a very summery vibe to it, both natural and ripe, both really bold, and with the raspberry out in front just a little bit. the vanilla is really prominent too, sweet and very desserty, pretty natural though too, and like almost always in my opinion, this could do without the lactose addition, its sweet enough from the fruit, and there seems to be enough grain body to render it superfluous. the flavor here is awesome, even before the hops come in. a lot of times when they do, they arent fully compatible with all the other elements, but here with mosaic and galaxy, they work perfectly. some pineapple and lemon is nice with the peach, a white wine note is nice with the sourness in here, and overall, i think the botanical freshness that they add is much needed. tons going on here, and this is a style i am having a hard time getting in to, but they did a great job with this. lots and lots of fruit, still plenty hoppy. not real drinkable, but its hard to hate on the flavor, its really good!