Raspberry Sour Blonde (2018) - Tasting Notes

This was my first attempt at a Framboise Lambic style Sour Blonde.  It is was made with beer I'd aged since 2014 and 2015 and Raspberries I grew myself (12 lbs of them).  Raspberries can be very sour themselves so I chose a blend of beers that hadn't developed a whole lot of acidity.

This beer aged on the fruit for almost 7 months and has now been in bottles for 6 months.  Lets see how I've done.






























Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Musty and earth brett up front followed by overripe raspberry.  Maybe a somewhat mineral aroma in there as well.
• Appearance:  
• Red and very clear.  Pours with maybe a finger of head which is gone in seconds.  No real signs of carbonation unless you swirl the glass which kicks up a bit.
• Flavor:
• Raspberry along with musty & funky brett flavors dominate the palate up front and then the finish is quite sour.  Raspberry and a light malt flavor then linger in the finish after the sour bite has cleared.
• Mouthfeel:
• Light bodied and very dry.  Acidity prickles the back of the throat on the swallow.
• Overall:
• This is very intensely flavored beer with a lot going on to bring complexity.  It is very dry and very tart which hurts the drinkability quite a bit.  I think a bit more residual sweetness would have helped the balance of the beer a lot.  I'll plan on back sweetening the batch this year.

Cherry Sour Blonde (2018) - Tasting Notes

This is my first attempt at a Kriek Lambic inspired Cherry Sour Blonde.  This was made with a blend of beers brewed in 2014 and 2015 as well as 11 lbs of Montmorency Sour cherries that I picked last year from a local orchard.  I picked a blend that was fairly mild in flavor and low on sourness in order to allow the cherries to shine though.  It has some nice complex brett flavors which I hoped would add complexity.

I let the beer age on the fruit for a bit over 6 months and it has now been in the bottle for 6 months.  Time to do a tasting.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma:
• Sour cherries lead the way, earthy and musty brett character is pretty strong as well, and a little grain comes through in the background.
• Appearance:
• Pours with a 4 finger head that dissipates down to nothing in a few seconds.  Light red/pink in color.  Pours pretty clear if you're careful leaving the dregs in the bottle.
• Flavor:
• Strong cherry flavor comes through up front - it's almost like a candy cherry flavor.  A bit of brett character and bready malt come through as well although in the background.  Sourness is assertive but fairly well balanced with the other flavors.
• Mouthfeel:
• Light bodied and very dry.  Slight prickle in the back of the throat from the acidity.  It's very refreshing and pretty easy drinking.
• Overall:
• A really nice cherry beer that puts the fruit front and center.  The base beer comes through enough to add a bit of complexity with brett flavors to keep things more interesting.  Really refreshing beer as well.