Soccer Mom
The Libertine Brewing Company

Thanks to eyebereej for sending this one! Reviewed from (long-standing) notes. Poured from the 750 mL bottle into an El Catador Barrel-Aged glass on 1/7/18 (2016 bottling).

A: Hazy gold with a good amount of visible carbonation. Forms a finger's worth of white head with average retention.

S: Bright citrus and tart acid – oranges and limes – and French oak. Cracker malts, minerals, barnyard funk. Citric acid, lactic acid. Seems almost like Sprite – lemon-lime fruity acid, but with French Oak and funk. Not offensive, but it’s a little strange.

T: Bursting with citrus elements still – oranges, tart limes, lemony citric acid. Lactic tart, big French oak, and a modest barnyard funk. Cracker malts and mineral-heavy water, more orange rind and dry oak tannins. Finishes with a lingering bitter citrus rind.

M: A light body, average carbonation sensation, and low alcohol presence.

O: Ummmm…this is different, and in today’s beer world that’s saying something. The interplay between big citrus elements and the French oak with some funk is interesting, and I think ultimately I come down on the “like it” side. A nice mineral-heavy saison-like tart beer with big juicy citrus flavors and a nice dose of funk. It’s nothing I’d likely choose to drink every day. It really does seem like a mutant 7-Up beer. But I dig it.

I've come to be afraid of American wild ales. So many breweries are making them unpalatably sour. Like bottles of vinegar. Unlike most Belgian ales, the tend to have no balance. Just a seeming, "How sour can we make this" ethos. There are certainly exceptions and this is one of them to be sure. A typical thick amber headless pour releases a mild fresh and funky aroma. The taste has what is for me the perfect tartness with a matching orange rind bitterness. Very dry finish. Tiny bubbles of carbonation. On an 80 degree afternoon, this is as refreshing as any beer I've had. An absolutely perfect hot day beer. Great straight out of the fridge and get better as it warms. But I'm drinking it too fast for it to get too warm!