Shadow Factory: Cranberry & Boysenberry
Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales

 

Poured from a can (22Nov19) into a pint glass

L: dark, clear cranberry red with a dense light pink head that fades after a minute. Not much/any visible carbonation, minimal/no lacing

S: nice tart and sour nose, with a great amount of fruit upfront on the sour base. Cranberry and boysenberry there, assertive but natural and in balance with the base brew. Get a little bit of hay/bread/biscuit

T: follows the nose, delivering a nice tart cranberry and boysenberry flavor right off the bat. Sits well on the sour wheat base, providing some bready/earthy flavor to counter the fruit-forward character. Quite long finish, fruit holding court

F: light/light+ body, medium/medium+ carbonation, moderately drying, appropriately acidic

O: delicious fruited sour from Black Project. Flavor tastes very natural, doesn’t override the actual beer aspects of the sour wheat base

A - Pours a beautiful ruby red with a large fizzy pink head. The head dissipates quickly leaving some light spotty lacing.

S - Aroma is cranberry, boysenberry, raspberry and some lacto funkiness.

T - The taste is cranberry, boysenberry, raspberry, lemon, green apple skins, wheat and decent amount of lacto funk.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Soft mouthfeel with a crisp dry finish.

O - Really nice fruited sour.

 

16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned on 12/20/2019. Pours very hazy deep ruby red/orange/pink color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a thin spotty lace cap that lingers. Minimal spotty lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of stream carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, fruity skin/seed, cherry, lemon, lime, peach, pear, green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of boysenberry, cranberry, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge sour/tart/tangy raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, fruity skin/seed, cherry, lemon, lime, peach, pear, green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, and white bread; with lighter notes of peppercorn, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy raspberry, blackberry, cranberry, fruity skin/seed, cherry, lemon, lime, peach, pear, green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, peppercorn, musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of boysenberry, cranberry, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate wheat malt flavors; with a good malt/tart/sourness and tangy fruit balance; with mild increasing pucker after the finish, but not overwhelming. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering sour/tart/tang and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium body with a smooth, moderately creamy/grainy, and acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Minimal warming alcohol for 3.5%. Overall this is an awesome fruited wild ale. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of boysenberry, cranberry, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate wheat malt flavors; smooth and fairly crisp/clean/refreshing to drink with the moderately acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish; puckering, but not too overwhelming. Awesome balance of super juicy/jammy berries, and Brett/Bacteria complexity; with a nice solid wheat malt backbone for the ABV. Zero residual sweetness with crisp acidic/tangy dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example as expected of the brewery.

this Is an unbelievably juicy sour, pours bright purple. The fruit is just so strong on this one. It’s straight juice up front, the sourness doesn’t really show up until the finish. Very tart, leaves you puckering on the finish. Phenomenally well done, very simple and straight forward fruited sour.