Chromatic Enclosure
E9 Brewing Co.

 

killer new wild ale here, barrel aged with peaches and apricots, what a hit for late summer harvest time! it looks softly orange and cloudy from the tap, a short white head on it is all. the nose is strongly fruity, apricot in front of peach here for me, fuzzy and juicy and ripe, with subtle vanilla from the oak, white wine tannins, and a pale wheaty grain base. some tartness is evident, makes my mouth water, but its funky too, seems heavily fruited to me, pure nectar, yum. the fruit flavor is so forward and real, and the sourness of the beer is perfect here, it cuts some of the natural sweetness and accents the flavor. i get more white wine character in the flavor too, a simple earthy grain layer, and quite a bit of newer tasting oak to me, a bit of honey sweetness too, really good. some funky brett comes out more as it warms, and this has a nice mixed fermentation vibe to me, lots of different fermenters at work it seems. the body is soft, fuller medium, and this isnt incredibly carbonated or anything, but i dont want it moving too fast because the flavor is so good, so it works for me. some summery ripe peach sweetness at the end, and more of a dried apricot vibe now, well established brett funk, hard oak, and floral honey late too. overall amazing, one of their better wild beers ive had lately, not too acidic, packed with fruit, and masterfully done. i loved this one.

edit: a little less impressive the secont time around, i assume about a year old in the keg, unless they made a new vintage this year. its a little cheesy on the ferment, a touch overly acidic, and without the fruit boldness i recall, even a little flat in terms of mouthfeel. less funk more acid now, some faded fruit, still tasty of course, these guys rule, but assuming its the same batch, it was quite a bit more compelling when it was fresher. anyone else have a similar experience with it? leaving original scores as they were.