Vale of Jocassee
Carolina Bauernhaus

 

This is a truly fantastic beer and compares to Allagash brewery only and Hill Farmstead. It has earthy tones and tastes like a farmstead with hints of lemon and citrus. Phenomenal. Seek this out!!

American wild aged in a spirit barrel. The label tells the tale of the forbidden love, like Romeo and Juliet. Never had a beer from the brewery and I am looking forward to trying this beer. The beer is 47 degrees and served in a tulip glass. A hard pour in the glass produced no head. The beer does have a lower alcohol content, why no head. The color is SRM 12 a medium amber color with mahogany hues. The clarity is clear with effervescence.

The aromas in the beer are strong funky, barnyard, hay, toasted malt, vinegar, citrus, wood, earthy, a fruity note and bready.

The flavors in the beer are vinegar, funky barnyard, hay, toasted malt, yeast, earthy, wood, and a fruity note.

The mouthfeel of the beer is dry and acidic.

The body of the beer is medium, high carbonation, and a medium finish.

The beer for me is not that good. The sour components are in the beer, but it lacks character. There is no life to speak of in this wild ale. I was so hoping for something from this beer, yet I got nothing. When I drink a sour beer, I expect complexity. I was let down.

Mildly hazy, reddish-orange and peach-colored body; thin and wispy head. Strong aroma of ripe peaches and sweet, pungent funk. Tart and fruity flavor; heavy sourness. Heavy body; slick and smooth; acidic but with a fine sweet balance.

Vale of Jocassee is one sour wild ale yet very approachable. The layers of tartness, fruitiness, and an undercurrent of gentle sweetness build a nicely complex tasting beer. The bottle label reads that it is "spirit barrel aged" but neither the label or brewery web site have any additional information. I don't detect any specific spirit flavor, but perhaps the aging did contribute a gentle woodiness to iron out some of the wild ale roughness. Regardless, this should appeal to fans of wild ales.