Magick Is Purple
Half Acre Beer Company

 

 

 

750ml cork and caged bottle. Served in a snifter glass. Pours a darker copper-brown body, one finger white head, fair retention and not much lacing. Smell is tart green apple, like a cider, a bit of leather, light lemon and citrus, touch of caramel. Flavour is tart green apples, light lemon, touch of earthy leather on the finish, minimal caramel sweetness to help balance it out. Fairly acetic, but not obnoxiously so. Mouthfeel is lighter-medium bodied, good carbonation giving a bit of crispness and refreshing dryness. Overall, solid AWA, nothing too special in terms of complexity but certainly no off-flavours either.

a wild amber beer in red wine barrels, quite sour and piquant, lots of wood and berry character from the wine barrels, and a delicious first sour experience for me from half acre, who i did not know was up to such things! its fairly clear and very heady from the bottle, maple colored, with a lot of bubbles. wet oak and hayloft funk on the nose, some lemon acidity and some weirdness around the yeast, but a bright fruitiness from the wine, cherries and cranberries and currants to me. the flavor is just like the nose, with the sour moving in front of the funkiness just a bit, still heavily woody and tannic, and with a pleasing malt richness that a lot of these wild beers skip over. i like what the grain adds, a biscuity and caramely aspect and some body, without making this sweet at all. its a nice base for all the acid, holds itself up to it a little better than white wheat or pils malt likely would, and seems to embrace the fruity richness of the wine, which is anything but subtle here. this is quite well refined for what it is, not as unique as i thought it might be, and i cant explain the name, there is nothing purple about it, but its a very well done offering, and something worth seeking out. hope to see more beers from this wild project emerge before long! this is really good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasted in a Rastal Teku glass from a 750 ml bottle on April 28, 2017. Lots of tart fruit flavors and subtle barrel notes to compliment the sourness. Recommended.

Dark reddish amber, somewhat murky, thin layer of surface foam and minor lacing.
Aroma is fruity with a wet red wine barrel impression. Berries and faint dried cherry,
Moderate acidity, light red currant and berry, bread crust, tart and puckering.
Some citric sharpness at first, light wet hay Brett note, dry finish. Decent carbonation.
Overall this was pretty nice and worth a try. Virga was more dry with a distinct oak presence.
Not their first foray into sour beers, they've done a few experimental ones over the years.