The Mix: BlackBerry Bourbon Biere de Garde
Casey Brewing & Blending and Barrel Cellar

neat old casey bottle here, more sour than it probably was when it was new, which is how a lot of their bottles are aging unfortunately, but this one is still tasty, different too, a darker, fuller sort of biere de garde base, with blackberries in bourbon barrels, acidic, lightly oxidized, still funky, heavy though, and odd. this is from march of 2018, and definitely past its prime, although still some utility here, surprisingly including the fruit, which is identifiable, jammy and still sweet, definitely real, and pretty boldly dosed. cloudy purple brown color to this, some obvious sedimentation, more of that towards the bottom, some richness too, light carbonation. the nose is sour, almost an oud bruin sort of flemish vinegar sour profile, but there is malt sweetness offsetting that, some tannins from the berries and a definite wine note, cocoa from the malt, not a ton of whiskey but a lot of oak, weird thats its this sour, every other element seems to want to be longer and slower and sweeter and softer, but its sharp all the way. piquant and quick. i like the woodiness in the flavor, and i dont even mind the way the grain is fading, this is a style that permits that, and the brown ale aspects to the malt are appealing, especially with the fruit. berries are the first and last thing i taste which is cool. i am missing most of the usual casey funk, its all acid now, and im glad i opened this one up when i did, more time is not going to flatter this at this point. a little boozy, still a little sweet, not real bourbon forward but infinitely complex even in its early to mid decline. i miss having better access to their beers, some of the more exciting stuff out there for my palate, but ive learned fresher is often better with these bottles, at least within reason. neat one for holiday time and a cool fusion of belgian/french tradition with american barrel treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Raspberry hues white head. Dark raspberry brown color.

Tart with tannin notes. Black or red currants, wine notes, and blackberries. The bourbon shows here. Oak with a little acidity. Complex and enjoyable.