Jove
The Libertine Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2016 vintage bottling on the cork. Pours lightly hazy ruby reddish orange color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense light pink head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, plum, lemon, lime, green apple, red grape, fruit skins, pepper, oak, sea salt, hay, straw, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, light vanilla/red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. A bit of band-aid in the aromas as it warms, but not off putting. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, blackberries, wine barrel, and light-moderate pale malt/salt notes; with great strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy blackberry, raspberry, strawberry, blueberry, cherry, cranberry, plum, lemon, lime, green apple, red grape, fruit skins, pepper, oak, sea salt, hay, straw, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, light vanilla/red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light yeast/oak spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour berries, cherry, plum, lemon, lime, green apple, red grape, fruit skins, pepper, wine barrel, sea salt, hay, straw, leathery/musty funk, wheat, cracker, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, blackberries, wine barrel, and light-moderate pale malt/salt flavors; with a nice malt/sourness balance. Lightly puckering, but not astringent on sourness. Moderate dryness from lactic acidity, oak tannins, and carbonation; increasing through the glass. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately acidic/tangy/tannic/grainy, and lightly saline balanced mouthfeel that is nice. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 6.8%. Overall this is an fantastic fruited gose style! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, blackberries, wine barrel, and light-moderate pale malt/salt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink; despite the increasingly lactic/tannic/drying finish. Really well balanced between fruit, wine barrel, and malt; with plenty of great well rounded funky Brett/Lacto complexity. Not as salty as I expected, but a solid amount there. A highly enjoyable offering.

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks to eyebereej for sending this bottle! Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into an El Catador Barrel-Aged glass.

A: Pours a hazy, dark purplish red with fairly low visible carbonation. Forms a thin pink head that fades fairly quickly.

S: Funky blackberries - tart, underripe and acidic. Lactobacillus and oaky dryness. Almost a white wine character. This has a nice depth of funk – barnyard and horse blanket and a bit cheesy. An appealing, balanced, and complex aroma.

T: Lactic sourness hits up front. Big tart blackberries and a nice funk, though less than the nose suggested. Light malts, dry barrel tannins. Lactic acidity. French oak sweetness balanced by a noticeable salinity near the end. More blackberry acidic tartness after the swallow.

M: A fairly light body, with fairly low carbonation sensation. Low alcohol presence.

O: This is definitely acidic – not quite enamel-stripping, but definitely heartburn-inducing if you kept at it. And despite what the (apparent) base beer is, aside from a kick of salinity near the end this bears no resemblance to any gose I’ve ever had. But quite enjoyable. I would say it resembles a traditional gose about as much as DFPF resembles a traditional berliner. But I like this one quite a bit.

 

With a love affair with the extremity of sourness, the Libertine brewing team embark upon a sour taste in beer that's seldom seen; one that's extremely intense, brightly fruited and piquantly sour. This beer simply ain't for the timid (and I don't use "ain't" lightly)

Jove doesn't waste any time teasing the senses as the ale open with an alluring mauve hazy ruby austere. A moderately structured lather builds atop while its scent begins to billow over with berry, apple, wine and a light acetone tingle. Its first sip latches onto the tongue with the rich fruit sugars, wafer maltiness and a hint of powdered sugar.

But all that is short; the beer shoves all that to the side as an aggressive middle palate unfolds with all-things raspberry, cranberry, red apple, rose wine, green cherry and plum. Sour and sweet to the palate, the beer quickly sheds its fruity and juicy coat and adorns a strong sour taste that bridges with lime, lemon, crabapple and rice wine vinegar. Clean, lactic and intense, the flavor of pepper, super glue and rose accompany the finish.

Medium-dry but utmostly sour, the beer isn't without its flaws. Solvents, paint strippers, and nail polish come to mind as the intensity of alcohol tuck nicely behind the fruit, but as the ale dries, these flavors are left exposed- its both the beer's praise and its crutch. Though abrasive and agressive in its tone, the fruit flavors and their plump taste are eerily soothing even as the acidity strips the enamel from the teeth.

 

Pours a 100% opaque wine red color with a small ring of head.

Dead on nose of dirt and ripe blackberries.

Tons of sour out front, shock tarts and sweet tarts, followed by salt and pure raw, dark berry.

Feel is starchy and sticky, but clean on the finish with plenty of pucker.

Overall, a nice accomplishment... not anything i'd visit on the regular though.