Blackcap Raspberry
Little Beast Brewing

 

1 year old bottle into a pilsner glass. Dark and hazy red mahogany color, with a purple head. The taste is sour funk forward, evolving into tart blackberries and a rich woody tone. The mouthfeel is rich and full, and the beer finishes dry but not crisp.

Amazing wild ale!

 

 

my first beer from these guys, massively impressive, cool little bottle, a bit pricey, but well worth it. it definitely tastes young to me, like the wild character has yet to push through the fruit, but part of that could be just the sheer amount of fruit that is in this thing, it literally is as purple and dense looking as beer gets, almost looks like big red wine in the glass, with an exploded sharpie market saturation to it, a short patchy head, and long legs on the edges of the glass. the nose is super jammy, definitely sweet, a bit tannic, maybe lightly tart, but no more from bacteria than from the natural tang of the berries. the fruit is very natural, and its as intense as i have ever known it to be in beer. there is a little bretty funkiness coming through, but not much, and it seems like this needs some time in the bottle to take on more of a true wild or lambic character, although it sure is enjoyable now too, just juvenile to me. the alcohol creeps up a little as it warms, and there is an almost gritty texture to it with all the fruit, very vinous in that way. smooth through, without much carbonation, hopefully some cellaring will kick that up a bit too. definitely a baked sort of warmth to the fruit with some residual sugar, and really a sort of unrivaled intensity about the whole thing, as far as the fruit is concerned. still complex, just nuanced, everything behind the berries. i wish i got another bottle to age, but i am stoked now for the grape one of these i also picked up. never heard of these guys before this one, but im pumped on how robust this is, and where its likely to go from here. exciting stuff!

Poured an amazing dark pink/red/purple. Aroma is a traditional raspberry cobbler. Rolls down the tongue so smooth and tasty. Not overly sweet or too tart. Great balance. Goes great with a wet hop IPA.

Pours Violet with a beautiful head. Aromas of stone fruit and raspberries which are tantalizing. Taste of barrel, grapes particularly Cabernet, and hints of the Vanilla. Feel is smooth and balanced. And overall well done sour ale which isn’t too sour.

Poured from 375mL corked & caged bottle into a tulip. Bottled February 2018.

Appearance: rich, red-purple hue; the body is totally obscure and allows no light through. Head is a thick finger of fizzy dark-purple foam that subsides after about half a minute. This beer is very purple.

Smell: nicely tart with a little fruitiness to the aroma; the raspberries are surprisingly subtle, given the beer's color.

Taste: a little bit of tartness up front, but not especially sour overall. The raspberry is very earthy in character, and there's even a little bit of phenolic flavor at the end. Perhaps not the most complex sour I've ever tasted, but it's got enough interest in it to keep me coming back.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a moderate carbonation and decent, though evanescent, creaminess.

Overall: this is a perfectly acceptable beer, although it could use a hint more sourness or something. It's really quite earthy, overall. Not a bad quaff, though.