Party Jam Blackberry
Hermit Thrush Brewery

 

 

All the way to Brattleboro to find this beer after trying it at a pizza place a few months ago and falling in love with it. EXCELLENT sour.
Pours hazy and rich red-orange, two-finger head, wispy delicate lacing. Smells like very much like blackberry. Setting reasonable expectations that this will taste very much like blackberry. And then it does! Incredibly blackberry forward. Tart with a sort of blackberry-bitterness on its way down. Simple in the best way. Medium body, almost a little syrupy. More carbonation would be nice, but I'm not mad. Killer kettle sour. Love this stuff.

 

 

 

473 ml can
Served in a pint glass

This beer pours a murky deep amber to rust color. It is topped with several inches of off white head that leaves spotty lacing.

It has a nice, tart blackberry smell. Some vinous notes.

It starts out with a blackberry flavor with some tartness and wine flavors. The more I sip, the more sour it becomes. I begin to get some vinaigrette flavor. This is the most complexity that I have gotten from a kettle sour. They are usually tart with a shitload of fruit flavor. This is nice. If I didn't know better I could probably be convinced this was a real sour.

Full bodied with a dry mouthfeel

I wasn't super impressed at the beginning of this beer, but I am now. Excellent kettle sour.

Pours a striking opaque raspberry red, 1" head that slowly recedes, no lacing. Nose is brett, bright fruits, berries, tartness, and yeast - no heaviness, very refreshing. Berries are at the forefront here, unlike some of the other Party Jam varietals I've tried, while the Brett and the yeast character of the base beer expresses itself as it warms. Mouthfeel is crisp and clean. This one really worked for me!

 

 

Picked this up a few weeks back at Cable Beverages as I'd never seen or had anything from Hermit Thrush before. This looked intriguing and different and that was certainly the case with this beer as it was not quite like anything that I've had lately, if ever. Easy to drink for it's style, this was a Wild Ale that could easily win someone over to the style!

Quite the pour to this as the liquid was a murky strawberry with loads of loud sea foam topping it off. The big bubbles quickly and quietly retreated as there was only one thin and wavy ring of lacing that remained near the top of my pint glass. Lots of apple, blackberry, strawberry, yeast, malt, and fruit patch in the nose as the taste was equally full, flavorful, and not too terribly tart. A good amount of funk and yeast here to go along with a lively carbonation that made every sip feel new and fresh at the same time.

Can't say that I've ever had a beer of this type with so little alcoholic presence but that was a plus here as it allowed for everything else to shine through and linger as long as possible. With "Jam" in the title, I expected more sweetness but it's very subtle here as the aftertaste reminded me a a country spread that I'd pick up from a farm stand on a back road. Not too rustic or stinky, the funk here was perfect as this left me wanting more on this warm summer night. Enjoyed this beer and how it didn't fit the mold of what a Wild Ale should be!

 

BLACK BIRD 021120 stamp near lid. Served in an Ommegang-branded tulip.

A: Dazzling cranberry hue with 2-fingers of sturdy color-tinged off-white foamy head with good lacing.

S: Delicious sour apple with tart blackberry vying for dominant aroma, overcome by the sweaty sour aroma. Some nondescript fruity berry and tropical aromas blend in.

T: Refreshing sour ale with tart berry right of the bat that then fades to crackery and slightly honey and doughy pale malt and deft mild sourness with a bit of grapefruit quality to it. Bitterness is low with lots of yeast and bug character. Just not very complex yet still very enjoyable.

M: Effervescent with light body and very dry with the sourness.

O: I really am glad I ventured outside my usual zone and decided to try Party Jamz HT Blackberry. Very refreshing and delicious.

 

Pours a cloudy light purple/pink with no lacing. White head dissipates quickly. Hints of juicy berries and Brett on the nose. Big, tart flavors of blackberry preserves and fresh raspberry. Strong funk. Thin, refreshing mouthfeel. A solid sour compared to others I’ve had in the style - really enjoyable. First one I’ve tried from the party jam series. Would be interesting to see how it compares with others. Perhaps the fruit flavors would be even stronger if they bumped up the addition of blackberries.