Heredity
Speciation Artisan Ales

 

Dark pastel brick red, opaque, with a moderately tall spongy white head.

Seedy, herbal funk brings with it an oak that has a sort of nutty nougat to it, before sour blackberry and grape take the fore, with hay coming out on the exhale.

 

 

Pours a beautiful deep purple/pink, with a nice thin pinkish foam. Smells nicely of jammy berries, maple syrup, pie, really delicious. Tastes great, bright, crisp, sour, funky, juicy berry. Some maple syrup, mild alcohol warmth, very nice beer. Another excellent beer from Spectiation.

Appearance - Pours Deep dark opaque ruby with big fluffy pink head with very good retention. Settles to a thick ring, no lacing.

Aroma - Tart blackberries are very dominant, good bit of funk and vinegar. Light oak, bourbon is not really noticeable maybe due to the funk and strong fruit aroma. There is also some tart cherry and lemon.

Taste - Really tart puckering lemon, blackberries, vinegar, funk, yeast, pretty acidic. Even though it is really tart the blackberries/cherry really power through.

Feel - Medium bodied, prickly carbonation, very puckering pretty dry finish.

Overall - Really enjoying this one, many times the fruit is covered up by the tart/acidic flavors but thsi one is really well balanced.

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, 2018 vintage. Pours very hazy dark ruby red, purple, brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy pink head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty foamy lacing clings on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy blackberries, fruit skin/seeds, raspberry, cranberry, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, raisin, plum, fig, apricot, red/green apple, melon, red grape/wine, bourbon, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of caramel, oaken vanilla, peppercorn, leathery/musty funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of blackberries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, dark/bready malts, and bourbon barrel notes; with great strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy blackberries, fruit skin/seeds, raspberry, cranberry, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, raisin, plum, fig, apricot, red/green apple, melon, red grape/wine, bourbon, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of caramel, oaken vanilla, peppercorn, leathery/musty funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tartness, fruit tang; and light yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart/tangy blackberries, fruit skin/seeds, raspberry, cranberry, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, raisin, plum, fig, apricot, red/green apple, melon, red grape/wine, bourbon, oak, hay, straw, grass, wheat, brown sugar, toasted bread, light vanilla/funk/vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Incredible complexity, robustness, and balance of blackberries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, dark/bready malts, and bourbon barrel flavors; with an awesome malt/tartness and tangy fruit balance; with no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Light-moderate increasing dryness from tart/sourness, tangy fruit, and carbonation. Medium-high carbonation and medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy/acidic/tangy, fairly crisp, and lightly tannic balance mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 6.3%. Overall this is a fantastic fruited dark sour! All around outstanding complexity, robustness, and balance of blackberries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, dark/bready malts, and bourbon barrel flavors; very smooth, crisp, and easy to drink with the modestly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish, not overly lactic. Outstanding balance of jammy berries, Brett/Bacteria complexity, and dark/bready malts; with nice bourbon barrel presence. This was a blend of 5 different barreled beers then added fruit, and they nailed it as always. A highly enjoyable offering, and amazing style example as expected.