Realm of Illusion
Von Ebert Brewing

this is really great, love their funky stuff, this is a mixed culture puncheon aged blended brew with marionberries, and its awesome. pink and a little dull looking in color, approaching soft lavender purple, fizzy to drink but not holding its short airy white head very long. perhaps a touch dense and unrefined looking, but the color is pretty. the nose on this is really cool, only a little tangy, woody and tannic which accentuates that, and with awesome funkiness, bretty and mature and wild to me, light on the grain, heavy on the fruit, jammy and red winey to me, a touch sweet and candied but so obviously real berries and lots of them, yum. the flavor is great too, the ferment and the fruit together really are wonderful, the fruit is summery and juicy and bold, there are floral nuances, hints of current and even plum to me, never gets too tart, but there is a lemon note, a little younger brett stink as it warms, slightly raw on the grain side, wheaty, vinous, off dry at the end, frankly quite complex, a love how much fruit is here and how authentic it is, really takes me to high summer. very drinkable too, more carbonation than it shows in the glass, and almost refreshing. not epically well refined, but really good, i love this side of von ebert. this is sure to cellar very well too, i should pick up another one and find out...