Boysen Back In Town
Farm by Beer Tree Brew Co.

Cloudy dark purple in appearance, with a small pink-ish head. Decent retention. Some spotty lacing.
Smells sour and jammy; boysenberry puree, raspberry jam, a hint of crab apple and sour cherry; medium-prominent lactic acid and sourness, green apple skin, lemon zest, and a hint of grassiness.
Tastes of boysenberry and raspberry jam, medium to medium-plus lactic acid sourness, green apple skin, lemon zest, hints of cherry and blackberry; a touch of grass on the finish.
Medium mouthfeel, moderately carbonated, creamy.
Overall, a solid fruited sour beer. I can't in all honesty call this an IPA as there is absolutely no discernable hop aroma, flavor, or bitterness, but it's a solid fruited kettle sour.

From a growler, from the brewery.

Pours a hazy , bright, magenta-red (as described). Think beet juice, whipped with raspberry puree. Ample, very finely-bubbled* pink head, that leaves a ring and persistent lacing.
What to rate it? Give it the purist "Is that really beeeeeeer?" rating, or the in-a-vacuum "Dayum!!! That there's purty! I wanna drink it!!!" rating? I opted for the latter, because I DO want to drink it.
*Is that a word? ;)

Mild pleasant aroma , of mixed fruit . As the head settles, and the beer warms, brief hints of grapefruit juice , and maybe pineapple. Giving the glass a swirl brings out a touch of the eponymous boysenberry aroma. If I was doing this blind, my guess would have been raspberry + blueberry. 4? The smell is pleasant, but it is light, and doesn't jump out. Have to strain a bit, and bury my nose in the glass, to get it all.

Taste is grapefruit, raspberry, lemonade, blackberry , and a tiny bit of white grape juice. There is something near the finish that comes across like crabapples, that have been frozen solid a few times, and are now at the perfect eating stage. I.e., concentrated tart apple flavor, that is not yet vinegar. (Don't worry, it's a good flavor. :) ) There is also some slight bitter, herbal flavor, that flits between sage,horehound, and copper. I assume that is the hops. The brewery description claims "the perfect amount of tartness". I would say "sour" instead of "tart", but yeah, to me, just right. It's a rounded sourness , not sharp at all, that builds as time passes, and lingers at the back of the palate. It's noticeable from the start, but is less so than a typical gose, Berliner Weisse, or wild/sour ale.

Feel is moderately smooth, lightly oily, with very, very fine carbonation tingle on the finish. Probably the only clue that this is 7.1%, not in the 4% range.


Overall, this is fantastic, especially if you like sours. (I do.) If I didn't know, I wouldn't guess NEIPA, but rather a dry-hopped sour/wild ale , or Berliner. In any event , really good, and hope they revisit this during the warm weather of summer. (If we get any. :PPP). Can't imagine getting tired of this. DO let it warm a bit.