Soursmith Pomegranate
Arclight Brewing Company

 

750 mL bottle. Big head on an amber body. Smells of strong yeasty acidity. Perfume. A little vinegar. Pomegranate. Tastes less of the yeast, which is good. But it's still there. Sweet pomegranate. A little bit of apple. Moderate sourness, but it's not a pleasant sourness. Eh. Not worth drinking, but not awful.

 

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2018 vintage bottling. Pours fairly hazy deep ruby reddish orange color with a 1-2 finger dense and rocky light pink head with great retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of huge sour/tart/tangy pomegranate, fruit skin/seeds, cranberry, strawberry, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, plum, apricot, pear, green apple, currant, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, pepper, leathery/musty funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of pomegranate, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, dark/bready malt, and wine barrel notes; with big strength. Taste of huge sour/tart/tangy pomegranate, fruit skin/seeds, cranberry, strawberry, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, plum, apricot, pear, green apple, currant, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, caramel, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of oaken vanilla, pepper, leathery/musty funk, red 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 pomegranate, fruit skin/seeds, cranberry, strawberry, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, plum, apricot, pear, green apple, currant, red grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, grass, caramel, brown sugar, toasted bread, light pepper/funk/vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of pomegranate, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, dark/bready malt, and wine barrel flavors; with a great malt/tart/sourness and tangy fruit balance. Lightly increasing pucker through the glass, but not overwhelming. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tart/sourness and tangy fruit. Medium carbonation and medium-plus body; with a smooth, creamy/bready, and acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Mildly increasing warmth of 8.5% after the finish. Overall this is an insane fruit sour/wild ale! All around amazing complexity, robustness, and balance of pomegranate, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, dark/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. Enormous jammy pomegranate, with balanced Brett/Bacteria complexity, dark/bready malts; and perfect wine barrel integration. Not overly sweet/heavy from lingering dryness. A highly amazing offering, and spot on style example. One of the best imperial sours I've ever had for sure. Equally as impressive as the kriek. They are clearly making the best fruit sours in Michigan!