Riserva
Live review. Another extra sent to me from msulinski, thanks for the cool beer to review! I was pretty jazzed when I read the description of this beer. There was a sticker on the bottle that read in part: "Though it is in the very nature of a wild ale to be different each year, this year's vintage is exceptionally different, and may not occur again. Riserva 2010 is a very sour ale, tarter than ever, the beer's acidity has inhibited carbonation which is very low..." The bottle mentions low carbonation and delivers just that. The cork came out more like that of a bottle of wine than a carbonated beer/champagne. When held to the light I can see a very solid layer of yeast at the bottom of this bottle - maybe half an inch thick; that's some serious yeast! On a very rough pour I got some transparent soap bubbles that immediately receded to a small floating ring of white foam. There is just a faint prick of carbonation as you sip the beer. Color is a very cloudy magenta that glows like honey in the light. Smell is an interesting bouquet of sour apples, fruity alcohol esters, and funky wet oak. There is a small trace of raspberry. The other predominating aroma is that of being inside a flower conservatory. With all of the flowers in bloom you get wafts of sweet rose petals, honeysuckle, grassy tones, vibrant greens, and lots of pollen. The nose finishes with some extra basement must. I do not know why I was expecting this beer to be low in alcohol, but that is the first thing you notice when you sip this beer. It is sweet - tasting of tart raspberry seeds - but also very hot. It stings the tongue and then warms into a full-blown burn at the base of the throat. This isn't a horrible thing, but I feel that if it were slightly lower in abv more of the flavors would come to surface. If you have a bottle of this, I suggest laying it down for a year or two to let it mellow. Beyond the alcohol bite, there is a lot of raspberry flavor. You can tell that there are real raspberries used as well - too many beers attempt fake flavoring, which always ends in failure. The berries taste 75% ripe - plenty to lend color and sweetness, while just green enough still to also add a clear sour kick. It is tart alright, but not in a bad way at all, sort of like the flavor you'd get by biting into the leaves of a strawberry. But tartness is about it, the beer might dip into sour territory at times, but it never really tastes outright funky. The alcohol, however, continued to gain ground as the beer warmed. It became increasingly solvent-like and unpleasant. It finishes semi dry and bitter (more of that solvent element). Mouthfeel suffers due to over-present alcohol and under-present carbonation. As for drinkability, it wasn't bad, I easily sipped my way through the first half of the bottle, but the second half will be a chore.