Brattleberry
Hermit Thrush Brewery

 

Pours a light pale amber with a cream colored head.

Raspberry, blackberry, sour tart, and fermented grain with a touch of lemon grass.

Taste follows nose, sweet and tart, sour and fizzy.

 

Thanks to Tongorad for this beauty.
A ruby-tinged amber elixir that has a slight, white head that rises a finger or so in height, and quickly retreats to a thin ring. A constant stream of bubbles gurgles up in the center of the glass sending the minuscule bubbles toward the side of the glass, reminiscent of Sauron's eye atop Barad-dûr.
The nose is straight up sour and tart. Raspberry for sure. Apple cider vinegar notes are on the smoother side. I don't know if I'm finding a bit of sour apple because I'm searching for it or because it's actually there.
Flavor expresses more nuance. Most definitely sour raspberry and sour acidity takes the spotlight. But as I dig in a little bit mote, wash it around, breathe it in, I'm picking up some dry tannic notes, hints of wood, hibiscus, pomegranate, and leathery dried apples.
A bit dry sparkle at the end finishes of this slightly slick yet actively carbonated sour. Nice click at the end.
Overall, quite nice.

A wild ale with both raspberries and apples? Sign me the fuck up! After some recent successes with their Party Jam series, it should be nice to crack into something from them that's actually barrel aged. They make some tasty beers without the assistance of wood, so I can only imagine what it'll do for them in this case. Let's tear it open and find out

Pours a cloudy reddish brown with a finger of pink tinted white head that quickly fades to a thin ring and leaves minimal lacing

The combination of fruit here is really prevalent, like a jammy red wine sangria, but still wonderfully balanced by some funky notes, I'm picking up on aromas of overripe raspberry, tart apple skin, sweeter apple flesh, buttery oak, leather, wet hay, a nice rounded doughy malt, and a hint of pepper

While it is a bit less expansive in taste, I must admit that it is absolutely smooth in taste, just straight up luscious and puckering at the same time. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting tart raspberry, white pepper, sweet apple, strawberry, doughy malt, leather, and a touch of honey. The swallow brings notes of old leather, buttery oak, overripe raspberry, and crackery malt

A medium body pairs with very gentle tingling carbonation, resulting in a zippy and refreshing beer. Finishes a bit sticky as the style tends to but the funk cleans it up a bit

This is just great beer. While not the most technical, it is delicious for what it is. I'd get this again in a heartbeat

 

OMFG! All of my plans have just suddenly taken a turn off of the rails! One unexpected thing segues into the next, into the next, ad nauseum! Jeezum H. Christopher! At least there is one CANstant - The CANQuest (tm)! This CAN stands as my last argument about putting craft beer into CANs! I heard SO many times over - "They'll NEVER put ANY Wild Ale in a CAN! Who would even buy, let alone drink such a thing?!?" LOL! 8=) He who laughs last, laughs best. Admittedly, this was beyond even MY wildest dreams (pun kinda intended), but CAN you argue with me now? Howzabout @another6pack or Russ Phillips? We were the early triumvirate as advoCANtors for CANned Craft Beer! Viva The CANQuest (tm)!

From the CAN: "One Pint of Craft Ale"; "Barrel Aged Sour Ale with Local Apples and Raspberries"; "New American Sours Brewed Responsibly"; "Hermit Thrush Brewery uses historical brewing processes, oak casks, and new green technologies to make exciting beer while minimizing environmental impacts. Using exclusively wild-harvested yeast, we highlight local flavors and ingredients in each of our beers. Cans recycle and ship using less energy than glass, and our wood pellet fueled brewhouse eliminates any need for fossil fuels in our brewing. Are you ready to break free from the flock?"; "Get Beer Off Oil"; "We set aside a special batch of our Brattlebeer each year to age for nine months on raspberries in oak barrels, and here it is! A huge, tart berry nose, with plenty of fruit and barrel flavor. Imagine a bone-dry framboise with a hint of apple, and a round, smooth oaky finish."; "Proost!"

I was giggling as I Crack!ed open the vent.

CAN every craft beer be CANned? Sure! Should every craft beer be CANned? Ah, but even this flaming heterosexual liberal knows to draw the line! My advocacy always had a modicum of discrimination. Did I ever honestly think that ANY Wild Ale would be put in CANs? Of course not! This wasn't even on the menu, except as a wind-up to the punters & wankers that kept shouting me down in the forums. 8=) You had to be there, wearing a thick skin!

As expected, my slow, steady, gentle C-Line Glug into the awaiting glass produced nothing more than a cycling, rotating series of soapy, foamy, off-white head that simply reverted to wisps. If you're looking for head in an AWA, then yer off yer CAN, daddy-o! Color was a gorgeous solid-Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9) with the most groovy NE-quality clarity in a while, dig? Man, this was some thing! Nose was lightly funky, nowhere near as funky as m'man, George Clinton, but funky enough to snap me back outta my trip!

Speaking of a trip, The Man tried to get me for pubic, I mean, public intoxiCANtion the other day, baby! Man, I don't fly on Ethanol Alcohol Airlines, usually, dig? Now, like tonight, I scored a groovy bottle of my 'rent's Faber Liquors Raspberry Vodka & I could really make the MadAve scene right now, dig?

"Hi, man!?! Mitou! Hobowchoo? Dig it, baby, you looking to make it with the squares? Show up with a groovy bottle of Faber Liquors' Raspberry Vodka & yer home free, Humphrey! Wear a braless dashiki & you may score yerself a solid Old Man! This won't last long at these prices, so hit your friendly neighborhood PLCB & lay it on them that Bro. Woody sent you!" LOL.

Man, the nose was a wild scene, dig? I mean, you had some serious funk in the living room, right? Th dining room was filled with raspberry, see? But it was all the way aft, inna kitchen, Momma Apple was makin' the scene! Like, wow, man. Very groovy, very trippy. Mouthfeel was thin-to-medium, no great shakes. Man, this assailed me with a funky tartness that made my eyes water, my nose run & if I was my Pops, it woulda set off my heartburn in all new & different ways! Wow. They put this inna CAN, huh? Far out & funky! Once the initial shock wore off, I could not decide where apple, raspberry & generally tart fink picked up & left off. Phew! Inna CAN! Hahaha. Time for some of the aforementioned Faber Raspberry Vodka. What a beautiful chaser! Its sweetness enhanced both the tartness & the raspberry presence in the beer. I could drink this CANbination all day! Wow, if this COVID-19 isolation scene goes on much longer, I could find myself in real trouble. Finish was super-dry, to the point that I needed my asthma inhaler, dig? Man, this was some no-playin' around sheeeiiittt! It was definitely NOT my usual bag, but I CAN certainly appreciate the effort & innovation. One was good for me, but YMMV.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: The beer is clear dark golden yellow in color and has a moderate to high amount of visible carbonation. It poured with a quarter finger high off white head that has very good retention properties and hardly died down.
S: Light aromas of raspberries are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell, having lots of oaky flavors along with notes of raspberries. There is a light to moderate amount of sourness.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. There also is a moderate amount of dryness.
O: This beer is nice and dry and has interesting aromas and flavors of raspberries.

Serving type: can

 

Super nice, complex, oaky, barnyardy, real nice apple and raspberry fruit

Poured from a 12 oz can into a Dogfish Head tulip

L: Nearly clear golden orange pour with thin fizzy white head. Falls fast with minimal lacing.

S: Tart and funky... fruit... apple, berry, and musty oak.

T/F: Tastes like it smells... tart without being overly sour. Funky... oak barrel, green apple, raspberry, and unripened fruits. Mild lemon citrus and hay. Faint fruit sweetness before the acidity wipes it away. Light bodied and dry at the finish.

O: A solid barrel aged wild ale, and Hermit Thrush always does fine work. Yummy beer if you can find it.