Prone To Panic
Wilderness Brewery

more cool beer and gorgeous packaging from these guys. this one is a blended ale, a belgian pale type and a tart saison, aged in tempranillo barrels, super cool idea, and i think the execution is solid. love the label. the pour is less excited than their other beers we had on this trip, not much head sustaining here, and a surprisingly deep bronze to amber color on it, a little density too for a low alcohol beer, leggy in the glass, the wine influence already evident in the visual. cool nose, some spiciness from the oak barrels, the tempranillo itself, and perhaps also the grain base, this is malty but its not sweet, some rye likely, its got that light peppery earthiness, love that in this type of beer. its decidedly less funky to me than expected, more straight acidic, but also not super sour overall, some estery belgian yeast also hanging in the balance, some berries and cherries from the wine, lots going on, good maturity, slight oxidation, high intrigue. the flavor is a little muted compared to the nose for me, the sourness picks up a bit, the malt fills this out through most of the middle, and the oak and wine dominate the finish. lost are some of the nuances i smelled, the fruit layers, the light funk, and the spiciness. instead its lightly sweet, has an apple cider vibe, honey, something fresh baked, and a lingering tang with minerals and even a metallic wash to close. delicious and complex, but not quite as refined as the others i had from them. its also a little less carbonated than i want this sort of thing to be, some bubbles still yeah, but this should pop and fizz and sing, and its well short of that. still, ambitious blend and something quite unique overall, the wine really contributes a lot to this, and i think the sturdier grain base is a nice call in that context. eager to stay current with these guys, they are doing some awesome stuff!