The Baeres And the B's
Baere Brewing Company

again not a wild ale and not a berliner, but we have no category for that here on BA still. its a sour with gewurztraminer grapes and nelson hops, and its amazing, done in collaboration with mr. b's, who has done some pretty heady local collaborations over the years, crooked stave and river north beers come to mind. the grapes in this blonde brew are robust, obviously southern hemisphere, just like the hops, and amazingly compatible with the clean tartness this beer exhibits, like it was meant to be, lemon trades for a little wine vinegar trades back for kiwi and lime, trades back once more for vinous tang and tannins, its so smart and so dialed, even before the hops. the nelson is most evident in the nose but a lot of its signature winey fruity bouquet comes through in the taste too, super fresh to me, nice with the clean tartness of the souring element pulling out its best. lemongrass and verbena and white tea, papaya and passion fruit, good crisp wine, the beer is nice and dry too. there is a lot going on here, and while i feel like a million beers have tried to bee exactly this, only a couple really are, and this is one of the good ones. smart marriage of the sourness, the hops, and the fruit, they nailed it really, obvious as these agents all are together, the execution is fantastic. i love baere, they are so underappreciated, and i reckon they would be the best beer in a dozen or more other cities around the country if they werent in denver...