Difference between Atrial Blends?

There is no difference in the beer. The blend # is only to show bottling dates. The changes in flavor are typical of the evolution of a fruited sour. Right now, Blend 1 is the most sour, with the least amount of raspberry flavor. Blend 3 is the opposite.

 

Not sure off the top of my head. Something like: last May, last September, a couple weeks ago.

 

I'd imagine Atrial will continue to be bottled a couple of times a year. The only limitation will be how much fresh raspberry they can acquire when it is in season.

 

I don't think they've said anything official about any more batches. The general stance about the fruit beers seems to be that they'll know more when they can get more fruit.

 

Only one batch of Aurelian has been made. 400 bottles. 1 per person. Those tickets sold out in less than a minute. Take that for what it's worth. No clue whether it will be made again, probably will. So will KBBS, so I guess take that for what it's worth too.

 

Atrial should continue to be made for the foreseeable future, I expect. Blend 1 was March, 2 was August, 3 was November. The differences are just due to time--more age -> more yeast and funk, less fruit. Changes are less dramatic than you might expect.

 

Jeff said the fruited ones are timed along the avaibility of ingredients
http://beeradvocate.com/community/threads/jester-king-production-schedule.144709/#post-2067194

 

Hey quick question on this topic for @jesterkingbeer - what blend did you guys have at the Texas Craft Brewers Festival back in September?

 

Probably would have been batch 2 if you tasted it in September.

Batch 1 was bottled in March, Batch 2 in July, Batch 3 in November. I understand that there was a slight difference in malt character added into batch 2 onward. Although I'm possibly misremembering this, I was pretty sure there was a slightly higher malt level added to batch 2.

 

Regardless of when they were bottled, we bought bottles of Blend 1 in September at the brewery. I know they were serving Blend 2 on tap there, but I also was led to believe that some bottles of Blend 1 were held back for special events. I'm wondering if TCBF was one of these special events or if they also had Blend 2 then.

 

Jeff at Jester King told me they have access to raspberries year-round. I believe that means Atrial will be produced year-round.

 

You should be asking for Strawberries. I thought that was the best of the bunch. Sadly the hardest to get. lol

 

The flavor of rare was why it was the best of the bunch.

Having had both relatively fresh though (Aurelian at Funk and Sour Fest, Fou Foune from August 2013 on New Years Eve), Aurelian > Fou Foune. So yes, more Aurelian please.

 

We'll agree to disagree...

 

Well I'm willing to try Fou Foune again, but I tried it just 4 months old (which is pretty fresh for the USA), and I got absolutely no apricot flavor. Maybe I'd be able to find some super fresh (less than a month) if I ever travel to Belgium. It had that beautiful Cantillon funk, but I was promised apricots and got not a whiff. Aurelian was not strong on the apricot, but it was there, and you could tell. And Hill Country Funk is pretty damn beautiful too. So yes, I give Aurelian the edge here.