Valkyrie
Barbarian Brewing

Draft at taproom. Hazy golden pour, small ring of tightly beaded head. Saison aroma, grass, hay, floral, fruity. Taste brings the tartness. Juicy, citrus, floral notes in the flavor. Pretty tart.

 

i dont believe this is wild, but we still do not have a generic sour or kettle sour category here on BA for some reason, so close enough i guess, its a saison type base here, done with elderflowers, gooseberries, and sauvignon blanc grape juice, pretty awesome combination of ingredients! i was surprised this was so strong, which seems like a calling card of barbarian, so many super strong sours, its odd but its cool. this drinks a lot more delicate than its abv would typically indicate, very light straw colored from the tap, not much head, and not much body either, a lot of the fermentables here must come from the grapes, as there really isnt a lot of malt character to this at all. its very vinous, especially with the citrusy tartness, lactic and clean enough, but tannic and bright too, gives it a white wine vibe as much as it has a beer one, at least for me. the elderflower is obvious, like a cordial or a liqueur or something, not syrupy like that, but with a kind of maxed out flavor of something so delicate in nature, its odd, but its awesome with the wine element and the tangy gooseberry, which is also very well incorporated here. cool balance of extra flavors, and a neat beer overall for sure, but it needs more carbonation for me, especially as a saison type, and the high alcohol seems unnecessary. i want to taste these flavors for awhile, and at this strength i really can only have one before i have to move on. still, a fascinating and delicious beer, not overly sour, very well done!

edit: i didnt get this the first time, but when i had this again today almost a year later, i taste like pepto bismol or pink necco wafers candy or something, its odd and im not wild about it. i wonder if this was only made once and its not ageing well, or if has changed some in successive batches. still cool beer, but i was more impressed the first time. leaving scores alone for now until i can gather more information about it...