Rosales
New Park Brewing

absolutely sensational strawberry sour beer, wild and funky to me, pure strawberry, the right amount of oak, almost lambic-like, and maybe the best beer ive had from these guys to date, super impressive, and a crowd pleaser when i shared it around this weekend. they apparently blend this from multiple vintages which is cool, gives the maturity some drinkability in this instance i suspect, and there is just a ton of fruit, its awesome! somewhat muted and murky on the pour, some decent carbonation activity but this is a little thicker overall than i thought it would be, some more sediment towards the bottom too, but there are straight up tiny strawberry seeds in this, proving that there is real fruit in here, not that it wasnt already evident by the nose, but i dont mind seeing them in here, the head rises and falls relatively quickly, but the bubbles stay in suspension the whole drink. pinkish hued from the fruit, wheaty looking, not super red or anything, gorgeous label art here too should also be mentioned. it smells and tastes about the same, funky wild yeast, not an insane amount of acidity for something they themselves label a sour, tart and mouthwatering, not not bracing, lots of oak to it, the funny weirdness that comes from the seeds, a lot of people dont like how that presents in these types of beers but i totally dig it, it lends authenticity and works with the funk, neat tannic character, fuller grain character too but not sweet, wet minerality, white and red wine notes both, faint hibiscus and white tea, red raspberry, and late vanilla from the oak, really dynamic and good, i can hardly set me glass down, its majorly complex but also real cohesive at the same time, the ferment is killer, and the strawberries are front and center the whole way, such a great expression of this fruit in a beer! its almost even gritty from the seeds and pulpy from the flesh, crazy, not insanely well refined then, but its rustic, a great trade off in this style. sure to age well, i hope to get the chance to drink this again someday, one of my favorite beers of the year so far!

Drank from a 1 pint 9 fl. oz (750 ml) corked and capped bottle purchased at New Park Brewing, West Hartford, CT
Served in a tulip

I have been waiting a long time for New Park to release a barrel-aged wild ale of some type. Here goes.

The liquid poured a crystal clear, golden yellow color and was topped by a fluffy, two-finger tall, bright white crown that quickly fizzled away. There was no lacing. On the second pour, the beer tuned somewhat hazy.

The aroma was outstanding. Strawberry notes were front and center. Sweet and bright but also somewhat tart. Strawberry hard candies (the ones with the green foil wrappers) came to mind. Some crisp lemon and wheaty notes were also apparent. Hint of funk. On the second pour, the strawberry was more subdued.

The flavor profile was also impressive though definitely not as strawberry forward as the nose. Fresh and bright strawberries were present here again, although they came across as less sweet and more sour. Big wheaty notes and lemony tartness in the center. More tartness and acidity on the back end and in the finish. Crisp, dry and exceptionally well balanced.

Excellent fluffy, lighter bodied mouthfeel. Lively and sprightly on the palate. The liquid contained a super fine, fairly zippy effervescence that turned slick and smooth on the palate.

Though strawberry is one of the most difficult fruits for a brewery to showcase, New Park did it better in their first attempt at a wild ale than in any other beer I have tried. This was super tasty and highly crushable.