Petrichor
Atypical Brewery & Barrelworks

sour red ale in oak with almonds and chokecherries, super cool combination of ingredients and flavors, well refined and tasty beer, super original as they go, sour as heck, but really good. a few bottles we have had from these guys now have been a little over developed as far as acidity is concerned, but this has been in the fridge awhile and some of that may be on us for not drinking it sooner, really cool anyway though, and most around our tasting table enjoyed it quite well, festive and different. clear amber colored beer with a fizzy tan head on it slow fading, large bubbles size here like a soda, some real sparkle in the glass, gorgeous packaging too. the nose is piquant and it takes a minute to adjust to the almost flanders red level vinegar acidity, but once i do i get strong notes of oak, red wine, raisin, toffee, bread crust, sour cherry, and brown sugar, its not sweet but it has that richness, almost decadence. there is some funk here too, woody for sure, and some neat minerality, very mature and alluring. the flavor is crazy, the front end is sour red, simple really with more acid than wild yeast character and just a bit of malty sweetness, but the center is unreal, almond is easy to pick out, seems fully authentic, and is really a neat layer, its only there for a second but when it is, its amazing. it sets up the sour chokecherry very well, and its real tangy, hints of red currant and crabapple and cranberry, very autumnal to me through the pucker, tannic too, but with the grain and the almond it feels like harvest time. bready at its core, definitely vinous, i do get a hint of vanilla teasing bourbon but it could easily have been aged in red wine barrels. it warms up to a little more funk, clay type earthy minerality, and more sour cherry. great carbonation is essential in this, pretty light in body actually for what it is. really cool use of the almond, love that element in this, and we dont see enough chokecherry in beer. clever and good, long aged it seems, could stand a little less acid, but i liked this a whole lot and these guys continue to impress me! still hope to go up and check the place out one day...