Soursmith Blood Orange
Arclight Brewing Company

 

 

Poured darker than expected, though a pretty toasty brunt orange/tan with a ring of bubbles. Smell features sour blood orange as the star, co-starring grapefruit, wildflower, funky yeast, wood, and supporting lemon, lime, peach and apple. Taste is more acidic, with blood orange taking a lesser lead but pairing well with other elements, lending complexity but less intensity. Taste includes some honeycomb, more funk, and bready malt that particularly went really well with the orange. Feel is tart, sneaky bready, and has a lingering acidity that is rewarding

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2018 vintage. Pours slightly hazy golden amber/light orange color with a 1 finger fairly dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Minimal spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of huge sour/tart/tangy blood orange, lemon, lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, plum, pear, apricot, grapefruit, raspberry, strawberry, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, and honey; with lighter notes of pepper, leather/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of blood oranges, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, bready malt, and wine barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of huge sour/tart/tangy blood orange, lemon, lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, plum, pear, apricot, grapefruit, raspberry, strawberry, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, and honey; with lighter notes of pepper, leather/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit/wine tang, and light yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy blood orange, lemon, lime, citrus peel/zest, peach, plum, pear, apricot, grapefruit, raspberry, strawberry, melon, red/green apple, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread dough, light pepper/funk/vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of blood oranges, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, bready malt, and wine barrel flavors; with a great malt/tart/sourness and tangy fruit/wine balance. Lightly increasing pucker through the glass, but not overwhelming. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tart/sourness, fruit tang, and wine tannins. Medium carbonation and medium-full body; with a smooth, creamy/bready, and acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly increasing warmth of 9.3% after the finish. Overall this is an amazing fruited sour/wild ale! All around incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of blood oranges, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, bready malt, and wine barrel flavors; smooth and dangerously easy to sip on for the ABV, with the modestly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish, not overly lactic from malt presence. Amazing balance of juicy/jammy fruit, Brett/Bacteria complexity, and bready malts; with perfect wine barrel integration. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and spot on style example as expected. Consistently amazing sours across the board so far.