No Return Ticket
Sour Cellars

Blend of ales brewed on 2/16 and 1/17, bottled on 10/17 and consumed in 10/18. Poured from a 750mL bottle into my Drie Fonteinen tumbler.

Clear, carmine liquid with a fine moderately active lavender-pink head; delicate sandy lacing; superior retention (especially for the style).

Good balance of vinuous and citrus-laden sour notes along with a wave of ripe funk aromas. Lactic/Pedio acid is present, but in almost equal measure you can detect the results of the spontaneous fermentation and the berries. Bright, complex, and inviting, with some lovely farm-yard notes.

Sweet, tart, and funky all at once. The microbes and berries compete for attention, though the finish is clean and bright. Hints of red wine vinegar and berries throughout. No bitterness and very low astringency. Faint burgundy-like notes perhaps, but no real oak presence or any of the notes I associate with barrel aging generally.

Well carbonated, light-bodied, velvety mouthfeel.

Almost too polite on the palate, this is a superior sour, carefully and judiciously blended with very pleasant berry elements. Pairs very well with a good cheese/charcuterie/olive board.

Sample at Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2018, Blue Session. Dark ruby pink color. Aroma has tart berries, jam and sour fruit jelly. Taste is sour, fruity, a bit mineral and dry.

 

A: Lots of deep, jammy berries, faint funk, followed by a moderate sourness.

A: Purple color, clear, with no head at all.

T: Jammy berries upfront, followed by faint funk and moderately high sourness that lasts through the finish.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.

O: Solid; the beer has a great berry/funk character, though the sourness is a little too intense and takes away a bit from the beer's other components.