I planned on saving this one to sample with a buddy who's one of the biggest cider geeks I know but I didn't get to see him this year so.. well, it's time to open it up, better in the present than waiting a year or two longer.
Today's sampling is a collaboration between Low Life Barrel House and Next Friend Cider Co, a Grape Ale Apple beer. Mixed Fermentation ale co-fermented with Next Friend Cider apple juice, blended with a soured ale that aged on Low Life Marquette grapes, aged 1 year in foeder, bottled conditioned. 7.2% ABV
I'm still amazed at how broad beer has become. I recall the time when I tried a Belgian-style ale brewed with a variety of white wine grapes.. that was something I was overly whelmed about at the time, and I even said from it that beer has become the new wine in some aspects. Wine meets cider meets Sour ale? Not my usual combo for a Monday night sampling but it's really intriguing me..
Appearance: Very dark purple with a reddish-purple hue to it. My mind is kind of confused what I should be expecting and that intrigues me even more. Lots of carbonation as I pour the drink, almost like a grape soda (RIP C'Plus Grape) but settles down pretty quickly. There's some bubbles on top but pretty much just attached to the glass and so faint that you'd need a microscope to see them.
Aroma: The more I write the more I need to start sipping on this! As I was writing all of the stuff above I got a heavy grape juice (or almost grape soda) vibe flirting with my nose, asking me to hurry up and give my thoughts! It's tart, has notes on what I'd describe as your typical red wine but with a wild funk at the end. I have to say that I don't really notice the apples but in reality I think they're taming down the tartness of the grapes, providing a bit more of an almost neutral fruity sweetness to it. The funkiness brings me back a couple cold days in Vermont and Montreal a long time ago.. ah.
Taste: The first thing I get is a very fizzy mouthfeel from Harmony, followed by a very dryness from the beer, and then a very sour presence of grapes to give it a bit of a red wine aspect but also a bit of a grape juice sweetness to it so it's not overly tart in any sense. The Brett gives out the funkiness that you know in just about anything with Brett in it, and the apples? Still add a sweetness to the tartness of the grapes.
Overall Thoughts: Quite tart, definitely reminds me of a red wine, notes of funk from the wild yeast, the apple juice doesn't overpower in any sense but helps mellow things (in my opinion). I would've liked to see my cider buddy try this but hey.. here we are.
No comments:
Post a Comment