Cherry Flanders Red - 2018 Blend - Tasting Notes

This is my third attempt at a Cherry Flanders Red Ale Blend.  It was blended in December 2018 using five beers that I'd been aging for 1-3 years.  My aim with the blend was to have only mild sourness as fruit will add acidity.  I chose the more mildly flavored beers for the blend as the Cherry would be the start of the show.

I used 14 lbs of Montmorency sour cherries that I picked myself along with 2 quarts of Black Cherry Juice.  This was a bit more than I'd used in my previous blends.  I let the beer age on the fruit for almost 9 months (longer than planned as I'd been very busy).

These beers are very dry after the long aging and the acidity can tend to become too agressive for easy drinking.  I backsweetened the beer with 2 lbs of invert sugar #2 that I'd made myself to carbonate and add some sweetness.  I monitored for a month or so and pasteurized the bottles in a hot water bath once a good level of carbonation had been achieved.

I've been drinking these beers for several months now and they're tasting very nice.  Time to log some tasting notes for historical purposes.

Tasting Notes:

• Aroma: 
• Candy-like cherry aroma up front.  A bit of leathery and earthy Brett character comes through as well.  Maybe a bit of vinegar mixed in as well (comes through stronger as the beer warms from cellar temps)
• Appearance:
• Pours with a 2 finger head that fades down to a think layer of foam - this lingers for quite a while.  The beer is clear and a dark red color.
• Flavor:
• Rich fruit flavor dominates.  The finish is a balance of acidity (medium level sourness) and a slight sweetness.  The fruit flavor lingers in the finish.  It has a very nice balance.  Brett is in the background but it does come through in the finish with an earthy character.  The beer also has a mild chocolate-like flavor in the background which is quite nice
• Mouthfeel:
• Medium-light bodied.  Slight stickiness on the palate.  Very light prickliness from the acidity.  Pretty easy drinking and refreshing beer.
• Overall:
• A really nicely flavored and pretty complex beer.  I think the balance of the finish between the acidity and slight sweetness is quite nice - really easy to drink.  Cherries are definitely the star of the show (as expected) but the base beer comes through enough to have a meaningful contribution.