Juan Gris
The Referend Bier Blendery

another absolute stunner from the referend, i wish i had regular access to their beer, it floors me every single time. i love their packaging too, this is a green glass large format bottle 2018 vintage, shared generously by my friend on the other side of the state. its wonderful beer, absolutely incredible, as complex as it gets, lambic-esque like so much of their stuff is, but also obviously multigrain, with the buckwheat and rye being quite evident, spicy and granular and earthy in a way that really flatters the wild yeast in here, this is what grisette should be. the grape part of this is fascinating, because even without it, this would be astoundingly complex and amazing, its already layered on the malt side, dry and mature on the yeast side, fully spontaneous and wild, and loaded with oak character, but the grape juice adds a neat additional fermentation aspect, some distinctive fruitiness, and a cool piece of terroir, even though this doesnt drink much like a conventional fruit beer. its tannic and bright, and with the wood, seems as much like white wine as red wine grapes, i get italian plum and tart gooseberry notes, wildly interesting, mostly on the back end of this where the sourness picks up. the brett complex is epic here, the funkiness is through the roof, the green glass contributes some, the oats and wheat give it lots of fluffy body, and the whole thing is just so expertly done, absolutely good enough to have come from any of the legendary lambic makers of belgium. i was blown away by this, and continue to hold these guys in the highest regard. feeling lucky and thankful to have been able to take part in this special bottle!