Maris' Voyage
Ex Novo Brewing

stupid beer, literally so dumb, one of the coolest wild types ive had all year, gin to the head, some 10% abv when you least expect it, all kinds of alice in wonderland stuff going on here. so unassuming, all pale and a little hazy from the bottle, fizzy but not holding crazy head. the nose is pure oak and juniper, bretty and sour alike, but lemon and wet hay, like its the best parts of both, not cheap and lactic, not yeasty and overpitched, its just right on the souring, the yeasts, and the overall fermentation, heck yeah! the juniper is strong, the citrus is grapefruit forward and rad, and the label art should not be forgotten, this bottle looks sick! a bit of lavender, obvious gin herbaceous goodness, evident citrus, good sake and koji and all too, uniquely, and plenty of the barrel itself, way cool beer. the additives are as forward as the ferment, both totally popping off, floral as can be, spicy in the right way, bretted out to an impossible degree of maturity. the coolest part of this is maybe how good the underlying beer is, independent of the barrel of the fruit, like just these fermenting agents and these grains make this special, so all the rest is gravy, but its special sauce too, so unique with all the juniper in the mix, and overall one of my favorite beers from our whole oregon trip, impossible that its this strong, it drinks like liquid summer. i have not had anywhere near enough ex novo beers, this one lights a fire under my bum to go find some more, wow, its amazingly good and one of a kind! among the best gin beers ive ever known...