East Bank Preserves: Blackberry (Bourbon Barrel-Aged)
Casey Brewing & Blending and Barrel Cellar

Just when you thought that we've seen it all in sour ale, the brewers at Casey keep the complexities coming with a rustic Belgian inspired farmhouse ale, soured with their aggressive house cultures, slathered with blueberries and then laid down in a half-year slumber in bourbon barrels; showing that there's much more to sour ale than acidity.

Rusty mauve and with a low lying head, the beer basically looks like a viscous bordeaux wine. But its still appearance simply dances on the olfactory senses with a jaw tightening sour scent laced with blackberry and a host of other stone fruit and dark berries. Succulence, juiciness and fruit laded sweetness pulls from a light cobbler maltiness and adds its own sweet introduction to the early palate.

As the flavors unfold, the fruit juices and wheat malt relax. The fruit filled center reveals a preserves taste of blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, plum, red currant, red grape and rhubarb. All this layers on the natural acidity of lime, crabapple, passionfruit and gooseberry of the underlying ale. Trending bracingly tart, a warmth of strong vinous spice and whisky align for a sophisticated taste of brandy heading into finish.

Medium bodied and trending dry quickly, the sheer fruit saturation creates a fuller texture. But the distraction of sourness, spiciness and trailing wheat leads the beer to a highly drinkable, crisp and refreshing texture with a glimpse into damp burlap and cellar-like perfume that plays in echoes through a medium length afterglow.