Together For Togetherness 2
Orange Belt Brewing

 

 

Reviewed from (long-standing) notes. Poured from a 22 oz. bottle into an El Catador Barrel-Aged glass.

A: Mildly hazy bright gold, with a good amount of visible carbonation. A thin white head rises and falls, and ultimately lasts as a foamy ring. This is pretty.

S: Lactic acid, some vinous, and lemony citric. Big oakiness, with a big vanilla component. A very mild hint of acetic acid on the nose - upper limits of acceptable. Cracker malts, with no hint of graininess here. Mild musty funk. Nice, but not overly complex.

T: Lactic and lemony tart, citric acid. Mild vinous and acetic sourness as well, but it lurks in the background and stays mild. Oak and vanilla and dry tannins – big but doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors. Hints of apricot and stone fruit over the light cracker malt body. Just a mild cheesy funk. It finishes with more dryness and tart acid.

M: Light body, but it fits the beer. It's complimented by the the fairly low carb - it fits the beer. Low alcohol presence.

O: A nicely balanced sour that doesn’t burn the gums with a ton of acidity. The oak is definitely a big player here, but again it doesn’t become one note. A solid sour that’s delicately balanced, though not overly funky. Some fruit additions or microbe additions could shove this over the edge for me (in a good way). But as it is, pretty darn good.

650 mL bottle. Pours mostly clear golden. Smells of oak, vanilla, and, at best, stone fruit acidity, but it kinda comes off as tomato. Tastes sharp up front. Again, stone fruit is the optimistic descriptor, but acidic tomato is more accurate. Lots of oak permeates the flavor. Aftertaste is, again, tomato. Medium light. Sorry, but this one isn't my jam :(