Casa Agria Specialty Ales - Faja de Oro

What: A mixed fermentation sour wheat ale [3.2% ABV].    

How we Had it: Out of a 750 ml bottle into a wine taster glass.

What we Saw: A pale yellow hay colored beer.  A light amount of white foam quickly dissipates to almost nothing; nonetheless, bubbles continued to rise from bottom of glass throughout.

What we Smelled: Beautifully inviting and refreshing nose.  Citrus predominates with lemon, and grapefruit at the forefront.  Reminiscent of sour patch kids.  A soft barnyard funk sits behind the citrus fruit creating a second layer to the nose and displaying complexity.  Notes of melon were present as well.  As the beer warmed the citrus became even more pronounced.

What we Tasted: Tart citrus was front and center as the aroma initially suggested.  The tart yet reserved sour character was very enjoyable.  As with other examples from the brewery, and even at 3.2% abv, the body of the beer was substantial.  This created a wonderful vessel for the tart citrus character of the beer. The noted flavors followed what was detected in the aroma of the beer in perfect order.  Balance and restraint really allowed the beer to shine.

What we Thought:  This beer was incredibly refreshing and enjoyable.  While only 3.2% abv, the mouth feel and body of the beer were substantial and created a beer that could be enjoyed by the pint on a hot summer day or with a nice dinner.  As with other beers I've had from Casa Agria, that mouth feel is silky and body heavy on the tongue.  In my opinion, this is fantastic.  In Faja de Oro, balance and purpose are key features.  The aromas are beautiful and the flavors play with each other in harmony.   The surprise for me was the presence of melon in the aroma and taste of the beer.  While not dominant, that melon character continued to present itself in the background throughout the entire glass.  Casa Agria has presented a wonderfully easy to drink beer which displays complexity on all levels.   For food pairings, consider oysters - the brine and salt would play nicely with the tart citrus of the beer.  

Firestone Walker Barrelworks & Wild Beer Co. - Violet Underground

What: A Cross-Atlantic Wild Ale - cuvee from Somerset Wild Ale w/ Candied Violets, a Golden Raspberry beer, and Cowbell. [Batch 1; Bottled 6/25/15; 5.5% ABV]

How we Had it: Out of a 375 ml Barrelworks bottle into a Firestone Walker Barrelworks Teku.

What we Saw: Golden orange - like the skin of a tangerine.  One finger of foam quickly fades to a ring around the glass.  Bubbles rise from the bottom of the glass and remain throughout the entire experience. An inviting beer.

What we Smelled: Tart berries and citrus jump out of the glass with a light funk in the background (which is reminiscent of wet earth and grass or hay).  A beautiful multi-layered nuanced aroma which evolves throughout the experience.  As the beer warms the berries become more pronounced with a slight brett funk rounding out the aroma.  

What we Tasted: Tart fresh raspberries on the front of the palette on a really sturdy and dry backbone.  A highly carbonated beer with a  medium body and a nice mouthfeel.  Incredibly refreshing and mouthwatering.  A nice progression occurs on your palette as you drink the beer - tart/sour turns to funk which turns to fruity berry and an interesting sweet citrus, like a tangerine on the finish.  An incredibly complex beer which evolves as the beer warms.  The tartness sensed up front lingers on the palette and livens the beer.  For me, it hit the sweet spot about ten minutes after being poured into the glass.  The fruitiness becomes more pronounced while maintaining a nice sour tartness at the forefront. 

What we Thought: This is a really interesting, refreshing, and complex beer.  What I love about well done collaborations is that the identity of each brewery comes through just enough to display the unique character and style of each.  There is definitely a different identity to this beer than the other Barrelworks offerings I've had the opportunity to try, yet that nice lactic sour character found in beers like Sour Opal let you know they had a part in creating this great beer.  While other Barrlelworks beers display an almost cheesy funk - this beer has more of a clean fruity sour character.  It's a great beer to enjoy alone as different aromas and flavor profiles will emerge throughout the experience.  There's also a really great balance between the different flavor profiles which really give a sense of purpose to the beer.  No one flavor or aroma outshines the other and the body of the beer is a perfect vessel for the different flavor profiles presented.  Well worth seeking this one out as only 380 cases were made.  Enjoy this one with a variety of seafood and some bleu cheese.  Really enjoyed this one!

The Tank Brewing Co. Abbey 10 - Quad

What: Quad [11.5% ABV]

How we had it: Out of a bottle in to a wine taster glass. 

What we saw: A really rich dark brown almost maroon hue.  Against the light, the edges of the glass appear to be a light brown and ruby (just look at the picture above).  A two finger caramel colored head appears after the pour which fades quickly leaving a nice amount of lacing and a thick ring around the glass.  The lacing remains throughout the entire glass.

What we smelled: Lots going on here.  Up front there's dark fruit , cherry, figs, dates, and toffee.  There's a hint of alcohol in the background which you can expect with an ABV of 11.5%.  As the beer warms, the sweet cherry notes become more pronounced on top of an earthy, caramel base.

What we tasted: All that fruit we smelled comes through on a really nice velvety and soft beer.  Raisins, plums, toasted bread, caramel, and dark fruit predominate while a hint of tobacco, raw honey, and and alcohol linger in the background.  A sturdy, sweet, and bready backbone hold up the high alcohol content of this beer which is seemingly downplayed by the high level of carbonation and the bone dry nature of the beer.  As the beer warmed, more of the really nice toasted bread, earthiness, and dark fruit character comes through and the alcohol becomes slightly more present. 

What we thought:  This is a really great expression of the style.  It's a beautiful looking and smelling beer and the taste follows through.  While being such a high alcohol beer, the carbonation, mouthfeel, and dryness really make this a drinkable and enjoyable beer.  The alcohol character comes through just enough to let you know this is a big beer and really adds a nice complexity to the already incredibly flavorful profile of the beer.  The velvety mouthfeel of the beer is really beautiful and marries well with the dominant flavors.  The dryness of the beer is one of the major high points for me - allowing a big beer to become incredibly drinkable.  The raisins and dark fruit are really the feature here but the less pronounced flavors add to the beer and elevate it.  Enjoy this one with some aged cow's milk cheeses (like gouda), and savory dishes like roast duck, braised short rib, or oxtail.