Lingoncherry Sour
Moody Ales

Clear red-orange color. Poured a medium head that dropped back to a patchy skiff in half a minute. Moderate flow of tiny bubbles from the bottom of the glass. Left no lacing.

There is a strong, sharp chemical smell that actually burns the inside of my nostrils. It seems like a strong acid combined with a dissolved soft plastic. There is just the faintest hint of a spoiled fruit, like goopy old apples. There is a nice mild malt scent that manages to power through the previous smells. Swirling the glass kicks up a light barnyard, which seems a bit refreshing after the previous smells.

Mild tart flavor. The strongest flavors are apples that are well past their best before date, some apple cider vinegar, and a bitter fruit rind and/or twigs. The bitter tastes like something that should be very astringent, but surprisingly isn't astringent at all. The tart and bitter both grow stronger as it warms up. The aftertaste is a burst of some unidentifiable fruit, perhaps a berry. This is quickly buried by the bitters and the dead apple flavor. There is a strong dirty wood or twig flavor that shows up as other flavors peel away, almost a bit like cinnamon. The tart increases again near the end.

Gentle foaming without any tongue tingling. I kept expecting some astringency, but there wasn't any. Leaves my teeth feeling a bit fuzzy.

There is something odd about the flavor that kept me from pouring this down the drain. I wanted to keep exploring it to try to figure out what was contributing to the weird flavor mix, but I have no intention of ever consuming a second glass. Something went wrong. Perhaps the fruit had spoiled before making this.