Bullfrog Blue Cheer

Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 8

As I pop the cork it fizzes up with foam just a bit, though not quite a gusher. The beer pours into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip with a nicely fruit stained, pale purple tinged, dirty pink colored head that starts out a fat three-fingers in height. The beer is a very dark, purple plum color that shows a hazy, cherry jolly rancher color when held up to the light. The berries are noticeable as soon as I start to pour this beer; The berry notes are quite volatile, though they get overwhelmed by the funk when I dive in for a deeper inspection of the nose. Earthy, musty, almost mushroom like notes lie just beneath the more dominant tart aromatics. This has notes to it that are similar to an oak aged red wine; a mixture of spicy, woody oak, a tannic note (despite this not being an aromatic compound) and of course the underlying berry notes. An extended dedicated, sniffing of the aroma at first yields a soft oak component and an almost nutty or grassy note, but then this is followed by a bright, ripe berry aroma that is more striking than I had previously noticed.

The first sip of this is quite dry and tart enough to make my cheeks pucker in just a bit. It picks up a fullness to the body in the middle and finish that compliments the dryness and the tartness quite well. The tartness has a nice roundness to it that makes me guess that at least a portion of the sourness is contributed directly from the fruit, though there is certainly more than would ever be contributed by fruit alone. Despite the rounded character, the sourness here is mostly lactic influenced. This finishes with a spiciness from the oak that adds a touch of warmth. While this does not have a ripe berry flavor to it this still is very berry influenced, the fruit really adds a dimension to this beer that is very evocative of red wine. It is quite interesting how the oak and the fruit really contribute a new world, red wine type note to the flavor; it is not the dominant note here, but definitely plays a significant role.

I really like the soft, almost creamy mouthfeel that this beer has. As it warms up it starts to pick up a touch of heat in the finish that is reminiscent of Bourbon. A second pour of this after a short break reminds me how sour this really is; while not at the same intensity as a "hard" Lambic, this is certainly as sour as many a traditional Lambic I have had. I really like the tart berry flavors that run through the flavor profile. This is a very tasty brew, if I had to complain it would be on the complexity. While I really like the interplay of acidity, berry flavors and barrel notes it could use a bit more funk to balance the other notes.