Prince
Fair Isle Brewing

 

 

12oz can from Tavour. Cloudy amber body with some violet hues, fizzy head. Aroma is grapes, tartness. Taste is grapes, sour bite, fizzy feel. Tartness lingers on the palate with some minor dryness.

 

a rose ale as they call it, brewed with a field blend of rhone varietal wine grapes, pretty heady from this unassuming little can, but i know better from fair isle these days! this is right in their wheelhouse, previous grape beers from them have been nothing short of epic, and this one is special too, packed with fruit, and bright and clean, less of the oak and funk than a lot of the others have had, perhaps just fermented in stainless, seems fresh and upbeat. gorgeous rich pink color to it, clear until the bottom inch of the can then a little hazy, peaky white head a half inch high and slowly relaxing, lots of bubbles, this really sparkles. immediately less sweet than expected for its color and general fruitiness, some bitterness and tannins from the skins, high minerality, terroir even, decent acidity, notes of cranberry, red currant, and red raspberry, and of course rose wine, their now familiar house yeast in play, fresh i suppose from the grapes but also dry and mature, more tangy vinous than funky wild, mouthwatering and vibrant, really wine forward in the aroma, even without an appreciable oak aspect. flavor is awesome, juicy grapes, maybe syrah popping, that jammy character, but its hard to really pull specific varietals out, aside from it being exceedingly fruit forward in the best possible way. its lush and juicy but its also so fast finishing, really flattering fermentation profile, specifically for this fruit. maybe some wheat at the core of this, fresh crackery pils type malt too, but the grain is way back. love how clean this is, really frankly almost drinks like wine, sparkling rose, excited carbonation, very light body, and some late subtle bitterness from the fruit as well, almost a whole cluster vibe to this. really good, need more!