Morphology
Speciation Artisan Ales

 

L - 2-finger fluffy white head atop a translucent yellow body.

S - salt, lemon-lime, oranges.

T - mildly sour citrus. Tart lemon, brown bread, grapefruit pulp. Low bitterness. Low sweetness. No booziness.

F - medium-light body with high carb.

O - refreshing and tasty.

Straight molten gold forms the goblet of the chalice. Wet white bubbles before settling in pretty quickly to just lazy bubbles around the edges. Lively carbonation.

Nose is a rich balance of tart and juicy. Lemon and some nondescript funk, maybe green apple, and an almost belgian-esque yeasty hint.

Flavour has less of a plush character and is more stripped down and clean. Lemon is still there, a hint of green apple, more clean and almost mineralic. It's a much blunter presentation of the flavours. Lemon and wheat. The plush juicier aspects from the nose are at the fringes still though and peek around the corners on the follow through.

Drier than expected and the carbonation is less at the forefront than appearance would suggest as well. This is super refreshing on this hot hot June day. Definitely enjoying it. Thanks to @FlintB for sending it along during NBS BIF#007!

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 10/3/2017. Pours slightly hazy pale golden/yellow color with a 2 finger fairly dense and fluffy white head with awesome retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of huge lightly tart lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, citrus zest, light pepper/pine, wheat, white bread, herbal, floral, grass, light lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Incredible aromas with fantastic complexity and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops, fruity/light acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big lightly tart lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, citrus zest, light pepper/pine, wheat, white bread, herbal, floral, grass, light lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light lactic tartness and herbal/grassy hop bitterness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart lemon, lime, tangerine, grapefruit, peach, pear, pineapple, passion fruit, papaya, mango, melon, guava, berry, citrus zest, light pepper/pine, wheat, white bread, herbal, floral, grass, light lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops, fruity/light acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tartness balance, and zero puckering flavors after the finish. Moderately crisp/clean finishing. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tartness and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately grainy, and lightly acidic/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 4.2%. Overall this is a fantastic dry hopped Berliner weisse! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of citrus/fruity/tropical hops, fruity/light acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth, crisp, clean, and refreshing to drink with the mellowly acidic/drying finish. Amazing mix of juicy hops and fruit yeasty complexity; with a nice solid malt backbone for the ABV. Not overly lactic, but a really spot on style example. A highly enjoyable offering.

Look: Pours a hazy golden straw with a thin head that disappears quickly.

Smell: Very light and delicate. Minimal smells of citrus, but really, not much on the nose.

Taste: Delicate, well-balanced, and clean. The sour is there, but it's not necessarily too in your face. This is a great example of a Berliner Weisse and has more backbone to it than say, Bell's Oarsman. I might want a little more of a sour profile if this is a real Wild Ale, but I also drank this super fresh. I bet it ages well.

Feel: Good substance - not too thin or robust.

Overall: Great beer - this is a pretty classic example of the style and I'm a fan of Speciation trying new styles. I would be disappointed if I expected a real powerful fruit sour or something along those lines, but this is good for what it tries to be.