Mysterium Verum Tenebra Aeterna
Real Ale Brewing Company

Pour is nice and dark, with a resilient head. Aroma is very fruity, with just a hint of the roasted malt coming through behind it. Oh my GOODNESS does the fruit come through in the flavor! It's sour, but not overmuch so, complementing the roast VERY well, almost like a nice tart jam on dark toast. Mouthfeel is thin, which is quite amenable to the flavor profile, letting the fruit-and-dark-chocolate flavors wash through your mouth. Overall I was nervous from the aroma that the sour flavor might be overpowering, but those fears were put to rest when I took the first swig. If you see a bottle of this at your local craft brew repository, give it a try!

 

 

 

another cool beer in this series, a barrel aged sour porter, a space that i dont think has been explored enough yet. shared this with my brother as one of our last beers of vacation, and we both really dug it. it reminds me a lot of some of the dark cascade sours, it has that kind of intense acidity and deeper malt depth, powerfully sour, but delicious all the way. not super dark for a porter, some red edges to the glass and a short tan head on it, lots of bubbles though. aroma is awesome, red wine, port wine, even maybe some bourbon barrel beer blended in, it has a whiskey element about it, but that could be some of the alcohol and residual grain sugar coming together with the malt sweetness and the oak too. the roasted grain is awesome with the sourness, a coffee and chocolate character to it, but some sweeter red malts in here balancing as well, it never gets bitter or anything. the body is medium, but it lingers long even with the acidity at the end. faint smoke, fig, brown sugar, prune, cherry, and even rum. its delicious, but its very acidic, and i am glad to be sharing the small bottle. less funky than anticipated too, its almost like a clean lactic thing, odd in the style but no doubt it works. a slow sipper, very complex and layered, a high point in my experience with real ale beers to date!

A very interesting and tasty beer!

Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass. Very dark brown with a sensational foamy beige head and great lacing. Red wine and dark cherry smell and taste. A bit of chocolate and some smokiness. Very enjoyable!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pour is a very dark, nearly black hue with a nice tight bubbled off white colored head. Great lacing. Nice sour and fruity notes in the aroma, plenty of dark cherries, hints of plums and raisins. Hints of bakers chocolate as well. Following the nose very well, getting plenty of that dark fruit, cherries more than anything. Nice subtle chocolate malt backbone. Essentially tastes like a chocolate covered cherry. Subtle Brett-like characteristics in the back end. Mouthfeel is more on the thin side, finishes dry.