DDHBASIPA
Hermit Thrush Brewery

Sampler at brewery. Copper colored pour, small bubbly head. With the hops and kettle souring, plus the barrel aging, there is a lot going on here. Sweet, sour, woody, floral. My gut wouldn't let me finish.

 

 

A- 16oz can poured into a narrow 8oz becher with a slightly cloudy golden body. Foam rises at the top of the beer to a half inch tall. Decent head retention with rare small sheets of lacing.

S- Sourness is the bold aroma up front with notes of hops and Brett. Sniffing on this makes the cheeks get ready for a huge sourness. Brett brings some tropical fruit notes that blend into what the hops are doing with fruity notes. Lemon and funky Brett notes. Mostly lactic acid with a hint of acetic acid as well.

T- The hops materialize more on the palate even with the massive amount of lactic acid that pile-drives the taste buds. Overall it is like a very sour stone fruit like a sour mango with a lot of lemon in there as well. Sourness first with stone fruit, lemon, oak barrel, vinous sour pale grapes and Brett funk/barnyard must. A touch floral and herbal as well.

MF- Light-medium bodied overall with a high level of carbonation. The beer has a silky and slightly frothy texture and it finishes with a massive sourness coating the tongue.

Hermit Thrush has some aggressive bacteria, sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Here the hops and barrel cut into the sourness just enough to keep it from being just a pure acid bomb. Happy to this brewery in my region.