Epicurean Series 2021 - Peanut Butter & Blackberry Jelly
Urban Artifact

This is the worst, and I mean worst beer I have ever drank. Like if you drink a pbr and say “man I wasted my money” dont touch this beer. It is expensive and nasty. You can get drunk cheaper and with better flavor. This product should not exist, and I love pb&j so… fuck you.

Pours bright ruby red with a finger or two of pink, bubbly head. Aromas of roasted peanut and berry but they’re undertone, overwhelming aroma of sour. Flavor follows suit. The elements are there but they’re not well executed. There’s not enough sweet or berry flavor to balance out the tartness and the roasted peanut overtakes the bill. It is a very crisp refreshing beer as far as carbonation and feel go, but to me this was a swing and a miss.

 

 

 

 

I've been searching for more puree and various fresh/organic ingredients. Urban Artifact has always been good with it. Let's pour it.

L: Pours fruity red, a light burgundy color, hazy with mild carbonation. This pint can is massive. I gave it a roll just in case there was any residual, but it seems blended well regardless.

S: The blackberry is rather subtle. It has roasty toasty notes of barley and a nutty note from the peanuts.

T: Less sweet than it's siblings, less tart too. It's 25% sweet, 25% tart, and 50% savory from the roasted nuts. I have no problem calling this a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, all the notes are there right to the grains. You know what Urban Artifact oughtta do next, is a graham cracker marshmallow & chocolate smore.

F: It's actually rather drinkable though it is pounding my palate with wave after wave of flavor. I've been sampling traditional brews lately and this is rather exuberant in comparison.

O: It's winning. I will have to re-order it this week because it is selling well.

This one is interesting. The peanut note really stands out and throws me for a loop because this is basically a fruit beer, almost a sour. The folks at Urban Artifact are to fruit what Treehouse is to hops.

The nose of this beer is fantastic. It has everything you'd expect from a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. There's jam, peanuts and white bread. Enough said ... that's what you get as a whiff of this.

The taste follows suit. It starts off with blackberry sour and then a second later, the roasted peanut flavour comes out. There is a yeasty white bread crust that blends with the peanut taste. All in all, it's a perfect beer when it comes to walking the walk. So many beers are claiming to be chocolate pecan pie porter ... or salted carmel brownie stouts ... and then deliver only 10% of that promise. I'd say this beer is 90% of what it claims to be. I'd have added 'sandwich' into the title because that yeasty/bread note does come through.

The beer is ruby red coloured, which surprised me. A bit of a thin head when poured which dissipates quickly leaving you with a fruit punch or Sangria looking glass of beer. But what a beer it is! Don't sleep on this one! I will note that I had it on draft and in a can. I saw no difference in the flavour. Nornally 99% of the time I can easily tell the difference between canned and draft. Also, I have a Fizzics draftpour and ran a can through. Don't do this! My Fizzics took out much of the peanut taste somehow leaving me with a blackberry sour. This is best if left alone.

If life imitates art, then its beer that imitates food. And that's how the experimental brewers at Urban Artifact sees it as they look for inspiration for their Epicurean series sour ales. Next stop: Another peanut butter & jelly sandwich.

Bright, robust and with a tangy and dark berry scent, the aroma of blackberry jam soon swoons the nose while floating above a deep garnet-rouge body and a loosly blanketed froth. With hints of peanuts, pastry and vinous acidity lurking in the backdrop, a more natural fresh roasted peanut character persists.. With the first sip, it's the jammy maltiness of stewed blackberry and fruit glaze that registers first and boldly with the early palate.

The distinct flavors of peanut, raspberry and cereal stew away on the middle palate and alternate for attention much like the kid's sandwich without blurring into a milkshake medley. With a peppery twinge of red wine, cider, citrus and sourness supporting the fruit puree and nutty taste, curiosity and intrigue abounds. Sour, succinct and juicy, the late taste is as refreshing as it is succulent and savory.

Medium bodied for sour ale, the pastry sweetness hangs on to balance the acidity and to add plumpness to the food sandwich likeliness while finishing with a sweet and sour interplay. A medium length aftertaste of blackberry is laced once again with peppery red wine and a sangria-like whimsy.