Oak Jay Way
Bent Hill Brewery

Went up to Burlington, VT with my girlfriend recently and brought back a bottle of this to give a fair try. I've never even heard of Bent Hill, I don't think, but a Merlot barrel-aged dark berry sour with a low ABV and solid price ($10 for a 16.9 oz bottle) made me jump at the chance to take one of these babies home. Hoping for the best as I crack the cap!

This pours a little bit more pale than I thought it would, but as more liquid builds up in my glass, I think it starts coming together decently-well. It's a dense-looking, orange-pinkish color with a rose-esque tint to it, and the initial head showing is spectacular. However, as semi-expected, the foam seems to mostly bubble away after a minute or two, though it does leave behind some slight retentive suds measuring a quarter-finger of loosely-packed bubbles.

Nose on this one is bright and punchy, powerfully-laden with intense sourness that erupts from the glass immediately after pouring it. Lemony tang with a jammy aspect that leads into a slight funk when inhaled deeply. Slight doughy/berry cookie-like malt backing with a smartly-balanced tannin element that I'm hoping comes across even more strongly on the tongue. This is impressing me right off the bat. I am not the biggest merlot fan in the world, but I think the fruit and tartness balance here will be right on the money, so let's see how it delivers.

Boy oh boy, is this one sour as hell. I think this might be one of the most aggressively acidic beers I've had in recent memory, but it's also quite tasty and doesn't forget to highlight the nicely-curated fruit selection. I get strong raspberry upfront with a hint of grape jam in the mid-palate followed by tangy citrus, guava, and a parting blackberry presence that also carries some of the tannins. It's not as tannic as I wanted from the barrel-aging going on, but I can live with that considering the fruits and tartness are both present and fun to experience. I would probably prefer this to be a touch stronger and with a slightly heavier body, overall, because it almost seems like it wants to be a "summer crusher" in a sense, but the acid factor and price point (though it is fair for the effort I assume was put in, I must say) prevent it from acting as such. Also, I don't want a summer crusher sour beer in the later part of the year anyway, but I digress. This is worthy and I'm glad I grabbed it!

This is one of the most tart sour beers I have ever had. With that said it is very fruity and tasty. Low abv makes it very crushable and refreshing on a hot humid day!