Review: Parallel 49 Troika Three Wine Barrel Sour Red

Another obligatory "I spent a lot of money at Quality Beer Store in Winnipeg the other day and got lots of amazing treats" post! I can never keep up with the new releases the Quality Beer Store brings in so I have to mention it every time I do go. Parallel 49's Troika was probably the first beer that really popped out at me during my visit last week - I've sampled a lot of Parallel 49 beer over the years but never anything in a corked and caged bottle.. so it's a must purchase!

From the label: "Troika is a complex blend of sour reds aged in Port, Red Wine and Chardonnay barrels for up to eleven months, with hints of dried figs and vanilla beans to round out the acidity. Fruit aromas of sweet plums and red currants are complemented by notes of raisins, prunes, caramel, and spicy oak tannins, along with a soft Brett funk and lingering tart, dry finish." 7.2% ABV

Appearance: Pours a ruby red body with no real clarity to it. Fairly liberal amount of carbonation in the body and a dense yet think and creamy head on top. 

Aroma: The first sniff of this beer definitely dried up my palate as this is going to be a sour one! I get notes of Brett right from the beginning to give off a mild funkiness to it, followed by a really nice fruit sweetness from figs, cherry and red currants. There's a mild vinegar aroma to it and a mild wet oak scent at the end.

Taste: Sourness is what I get right from the very first sip - it's a mild vinegary sourness, followed by a hint of Brett funk, sour cherries, a hint of vanilla, a faint presence of oak and a hint of various wines to give it a very dry and mildly sweet presence to it. Quite acidic for the mouthfeel and the aftertaste has a bit of red wine and oak presence at the end. 

Overall Thoughts: With it's mild vinegary presence, it brought me back to Duchesse de Bourgogne, a vinegary sour I love but haven't sampled in a very long time (and I'm just waiting for MLCC to discontinue it soon enough). Quite a dry sour, hints of oak and red wine, light fruity sweetness and a hint of Brett, very enjoyable and I highly recommend giving this as an Xmas gift to your favourite wine connoisseur(s) as I feel this would be definitely enjoyed by them.