Metamorphic Flanders Style Red Ale with Raspberry
Bozeman Brewing Company

this thing is awesome, and distinct from other vintages hence its own listing, 2022 here, with raspberries and no cherries i dont think, some five years in oak, just nuts. its of course super mature, super sour too, but with a fermentation profile befitting of the flemish style, some of that fruit vinegar to it, heavy red wine and tannins, old musty oak, but also some cool funk to it too, approaching lambic level weirdness through all the acid. reddish to light brown brew with a little haze and quite a nice little bottle conditioned head on it for something this puckery. the aroma is sharp and it takes me a bit to adjust, things like balsamic vinegar, cedar wood, and cranberry come to mind, none of which are actually in here. i get old cardboard and like ancient documents, old books, that kind of thing, the raspberry is fresh and a nice contrast, heavy red wine abounds, but so does a whiskey note, could this be aged in more than one type of barrel? red currant, pie cherry, and again cranberry along with the obvious raspberry, nice tang the whole way, excessively bacterial later on and as it warms. enough wood that this should be heavy, but it isnt, and a pretty cool and complex malt base too, a little cocoa, leather, cigar, and roast in play, deep for a red type. overall the maturity of this makes it, the fruit is a great addition, and the barrel treatment is something else. really special bottle, so glad we picked this up. one of the best domestic takes on the style ive ever had...