Amber: Blueberry & Spent Black Currants (Red Wine Barrel Aged)
Afterthought Brewing Company

Bottled on 12/12/2019; consumed on 7/19/21

Pours a clear, depleted ruby-red body capped with two fingers of dense, fluffy, off-white foam; mediocre head retention leaves a paper-thin veil of cap, a large, creamy collar, and a few stray strands of webby lacing holding to the walls of the glass.

Aroma opens with a ripe, level foundation of slightly lactic funk and a subtle malt backdrop; Maraschino cherry engages sensory tones of strawberry while a more prominent macerated blueberry textures a background sweetness; the back end of the bouquet leans toward wet grass, black currant pith, and grape-like tannins with a lurking influence toward the red wine barrel.

Taste features a funk both subtle and predominantly lactic, imparting dry hay with a tinge of horsey tones against bright red wine grape shining briefly to the mid-palate; the last stand of a fading blueberry tone cedes to touches of oak into the back end, where juicy black currant and soft impressions of flaky malts linger on exhale.

Mouthfeel offers a light body with subtle carbonation as a prickle of underlying grittiness preempts the moderate acidity gliding over the mid-palate and through the back end, thinning slightly to a semi-juicy burst carrying a moderate tartness through the finish.

Fruit fades with cohesion as the barrel meets funk to temper in synchronicity and disperse a level character throughout; a fruited wild ale conditioned to a relaxed, unabrasive cohesion of usually acidic elements.

Reddish amber with a thick beigey white ring. Actually get more of the currant in the nose, blueberry there but not as strong, with huge rustic oak, very expressive funk, with dried flowers. Early summer in a scent. Taste now explodes with blueberry juice and skins, with currant melding into the flowers and blackberry, with oak, funk, and wild yeast rounding out, light tartness to finish. Body is slightly thinner but plenty smooth, whimsically tart and satisfyingly funky.