Skin Contact
Cyclic Beer Farm

absolutely astoundingly good, one of the highlights from our wonderful grape beer night last night, and among the best beers ive had from this impressive operation so far, i am becoming a fanboy. this is done with three grapes i have never heard of before, a cool mix of yeasts, and is stunning in the glass, rose pink with a light haze and an airy white head which slowly recedes. this is carbonated almost to champagne levels, and is gorgeously complex yet quite drinkable due to its modest abv, finishing dryness, and minimal acidity as this sort of thing goes. more saison and bretty than it is sour, which i appreciate greatly. neat nose, a little of an almost bleachy sort of vibe, grape tannins, tart and skinny, some light raspberry and rose notes, fresh and alive, real cool funk, a high tone yeast ester, a hint of coriander or something, cereal grain, minerals. the flavor is awesome, the grapes really pop, bring some mild acidity thats great with this fermentation profile, and linger nicely on the finish, this is as much wine as it is beer to me, more delicate than a lot of the other grape beers we opened in the session, and really effervescent on the palate. its super well refined, the fruit is unique, and the base beer is probably fire even without it. really great, worth this steep price tag, all of their stuff has been so far. highly recommended if you are into this style!

edit: had another vintage of this recently and was equally impressed, different label, different grape varietals i believe, all second use fruit i think too, listed this time at 6.8% abv, no doubt some variance year to year on that. deep matte purple color, nice and lively on the head but settling back pretty quick. nose of sulfur, tart grape skins, cranberry and raspberry, and minerals, wet stone, very light on the grain side, some light funk to it, probably mixed fermentation here. the flavor is awesome too, somewhat subtle to me both on the fruit and on the ferment compared to their epic sumoll we opened right next to it, but about the same as i remember from the last skin contact i had. red florals, piquant berry, not overly acidic, very organic seeming, definitely a lot of fermentables coming from grapes here. really good, as good as it was the first time around even though a different beer now. cyclic seems to be doing some incredible grape stuff, id love to try their actual wine one day, but these hybrids are lights out! amazing yeast profile here, subtle as it is, not lost to the fruit but enhanced by it. what a treat to share this with good friends!