Single Barrel Experiment Strawberry De Provence
Beachwood Blendery

 

2021 Vintage

Appearance: Light amber-yellow color with a generous sized off-white head that slowly faded. A good-looking Wild Ale.

Smell: Moderate barnyard funk and tart citrus aromas.

Taste: Tart berry notes feature upfront in the flavor profile, followed by some grassy/hay notes. I also get some mild leather notes. The beer finishes fairly dry.

Mouth-feel: Fairly light-bodied with a generous level of carbonation. The body is sparkling and light. the beer has an appropriate mouthfeel for the style.

Overall: A good Wild Ale. The strawberries added do not present any sweetness, but they feature as tart berry notes. I can't wait to be able to get back to the Blendery again.

 

On tap at Green Cheek in Costa Mesa, CA.

Lambics are good to me, you know? That is, sometimes you need a change of pace from Sally (IPA’s), so you hit up Natasha (Lambic‘s). And right now Natasha is hitting me right well with just the amount of kinkiness that Sally doesn’t provide.

Yeah, like a bee on vacay, I’m flying and feeling high.

 

 

 

Had on tap. This was the surprise of fobab! A great lambic. Had the edgy mineral and barnyard funk to go with juicy and grassy strawberries, belgian yeast, and a finished mark by lambic sweet dryness and strawberry and citrus juice tang. Smell was even better, incorporating hay, flowers and slight jam. Body was a bit thin, but otherwise had all the lambic textures. Not on the level of the belgian greats, but this was very, very good

 

500ml bottle, 2017 release, poured into a 12oz white wine glass.

The beer pours a bright orange color, light amber, straw hues, cloudy with a foamy white head, about two fingers tall with minimal retention and no lacing of note. The aroma is pleasant, soft strawberry, light funk, lemon acidity, pale grain, light peppercorn and some lightly floral character. The flavors are very good, bright strawberry, lemon peel, fruity funk, soft oak, mineral water, pale grain, peppercorn and a lightly earthy floral character. The mouthfeel is good, vibrant and lively lighter body, crisp and very carbonated that coats well and finishes with a tart and dry bite.

Verdict: A nice strawberry wild ale from Beachwood Blendery. Strawberry is such a delicate fruit and the flavor can be overshadowed so easily but this is done very well, the strawberry is very distinct and with the funkiness almost imparts a strawberries and cream type flavor, nice beer.

 

this is sensational beer, a strawberry lambic with herbs de provence, and its one of the highlights of the beer year for me this year. everyone is starting so say "lambic inspired" on their wild beers, which i think both confuses the consumer, or even misleads them intentionally, and also sort of cheapens the actual lambic experience. so often its not even close to the beers of belgium, but this one here, this is straight up lambic at its heart, just like several of the recent beachwood wild beers ive had have been. i mean, really classic belgian funk and sour mix, maturity, blending, and wood profiles, aged hops, white wheat, and open type fermentation characteristics. it almost seems like the cultures in here are similar to some of the famous lambics of old. i cant believe how authentic this is as a base beer, and it sets up the added ingredients in a wonderful way. this to me, tastes more like old world lambic than even some of the spon beers from jester king, the coolship ones from allagash, or the stuff i have had coming out of de garde, or anyone in the states for that matter. the strawberries stain it just a little pink, and add a jammy sweetness to the nose and a ripe fresh summery strawberry flavor. they balance the tartness expertly, taste super natural, and are dosed fairly robustly, absolutely gorgeous use of this fruit. the herbs are more subtle, mostly thyme for me in the nose, and then primarily in the finish on the flavor, bringing the oak up front a little bit, highlighting a lemon zesty bacterial sour aspect, and with a little herbal rosemary and tea-like quality later on, maybe even a little bitterness, but still thyme driven for my palate. its a wonderful touch to an already exceptional beer. as cool as the herbs and berries are, the most impressive thing for me here is the base lambic, the aroma, flavor, and feel are spot on, great carbonation, zingy acidity, and mature funk united by old wood, its amazing. a total high water mark of american beer made in the lambic fashion!

 

 

 

 

 

A: Moderate strawberry essence upfront, followed by a funky lingering sourness with a touch of oak.

A: Pinkish color, hazy with a fairly thick white head that has solid retention, some lacing in the glass.

T: Moderate strawberry essence upfront, funky, slightly herbal, with a lingering sourness that lasts through the finish. The beer finishes semi-dry.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation, the beer has a very light acidity.

O: Pretty tasty; the interesting blend of brett saison and lambic on strawberries. The strawberries are noticeable upfront and there’s a light herbal quality that offsets the funky, lingering sourness. Pretty easy and tasty to drink!