La Folie
750ml champagne-style bottle, corked and caged. Opened with a LOUD POP! Poured into flutes, minimal head that mostly fades. Color is a lovely red-amber. Bubbles like champagne. Fascinating aroma. Is this beer? Sour cherries, malt vinegar, pineapple and slight hint of figs and dill (?) pickles. Taste: VERY VERY sour. Complex sour. Sour cherries, watermelon candy, citric acid pucker-inducing. Fascinating: there's a hint of (?) salted figs or pickled beets. There is actually a salty edge to this. Gets better as it warms -- the other fruit notes come up: green apple, lemon juice, grapefruit. I think I poured it too cold to start. Mouthfeel is nice and round, big for 6.0% beer. Though there is lots of carbonation, it's very soft in the mouth. Drinkability is somewhat diminished for me, just because of the sourness. Goes down easy, however, despite the high carbonation. This is a real mixed bag. Fascinating beer with a fascinating aroma. But I'm told that the overtly sour aspects are something of an acquired taste. However, at over 66 cents an ounce, I'm not sure I can afford to acquire this taste. Actually -- and I really mean this -- it reminds me more of a very dry champagne than a beer. Next time I have this -- if there IS a next time -- I may serve it at about 55 degrees instead of 40 degrees.