Solera Skins Blackberry
American Solera

 

 

 

3yo (2017) bottle: Literally vinegar. American Solera is a garbage company. They are clueless about aging.

Pours an absolutely stunning clear, light pinkish-orange with a finger-and-a-half of short-lived bright white head. It disappears quickly and leaves no lacing whatsoever.

Delicate aroma with light sourness and very light berry sweetness, floral hops, honey, tea and wood.

Strong tartness in the taste, but still in the “refined,” not “walloping,” category. Blackberry fruit is clearly in there, along with more earthy tea-like notes and barrel wood. It has a fairly clean, dry finish. Just a little of that delicious tartness and fruit carries through to the aftertaste.

There’s a slight sticky syrup quality to the feel. Modest carbonation.

I don’t consider this a saison, but it’s still fantastic. Blackberry-flavored beers often seem a little off to me, but they absolutely nailed the balance here. The only thing that could make the drinking experience better is if the head lasted longer. The brief time it was there it was one of the loveliest beers I’ve ever seen.

 

 

 

its unlike these guys to make something subtle, yet here we are. this easily the most mild, restrained, and delicate beer i have seen from american solera, which, with another lesser beer might be a negative, but with this sense, i think it shows maturity and a "been there done that" confidence in the context of their whole bottled portfolio to date. the blackberry is mild, almost not fully recognizable as itself, more vinous than berry-esque, tart from yeast and fruit at the same time, in a good way. generic berry, pink stained glass clearish look, fresh and clean, tart and pucker, some cool funk too, this is a wild ale, even with some lambic elements, but i almost get the feeling like this should have been held back, i mean, they probably did hold some back, but this seems not quite ready to me, like more oak and more fruit and a forgotten oak vessel ten years from now would yield something amazing with the base, granted, these cats probably need revenue, and they are doing fine, and this is fine, but the full potential here is really high. for now, its tart without being woody or funky, and its dry without any regal maturity, and essentially its good without being great...