(512) Young Funkenstein

Every year, i slowly stockpile a collection of beers to age from 1 to 12 months, opening and enjoying it all around Christmas time.  This stockpiling almost always includes a dinner beer or two as well, and i think i may have found my dinner beverage of choice for this year's Christmas dinner (if we make it that far), the 2020 edition of Young Funkenstein from (512) Brewing.  The 7% ABV beer is a copper ale aged in cabernet barrels for 2 years with wild yeast and dried Ranier cherries.  It pours a coppery, red-tinted brown and smells of cherries and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is an enjoyably sour mix of cherry and oak with a dry and slightly funky finish.  I look forward to having a few more of these.

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Red Horn Poptart Ravioli?

Poptart Ravioli?  It's a kettle soured strawberry milkshake IPA from Central Texas brewer Red Horn Brewing that involves actual poptarts in the brewing process.  The 6% ABV concoction pours a hazy, reddish gold with a white head and smells of tart fruits, strawberry, and vanilla.  The flavor is a sour mix of strawberry, cream, and just a hint of funk.  I like it when brewers get a little crazy, and it's even better when the end product is this tasty.

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Red Horn Wild Wineoceros

I've been doing my best to help out the local brewers by ordering a whole load of to-go beer and then picking it all up around the greater Austin area.  It's good.  It gets me out of the house, but still maintaining social distance as i hardly even get out of the car, and it gets me tons of great beer.  One of my visits this weekend was Cedar Park's Red Horn Coffee House and Brewery where i picked up a variety of brews.  One of those was the Wild Wineoceros, an 8% ABV brett beer aged with grapes and juice.  The beer pours nice and gold with a pretty quickly dissipating white head and smells of fruit, tart, and a little bit of funk.  The flavor is a dry and funky mix of grapes, yeast, tart (but not overly tart) fruit.  It's a wonderful beer for a Saturday afternoon, rain or no.

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Violet! You're Turning Violet! Blueberry Sour IPA

The folks over at Martin House just keeping it up with the hits lately.  Every concoction that they put their minds to ends up pleasantly surprising my palette.  And the Violet! You're Turning Violet! Blueberry Sour IPA does not disappoint.  Pouring a purplish (violet) hue with a bubbly white head, the 6.3% ABV smells of tart blueberries with hints of citrus and hops.  The flavor is a lot of blueberry and a lot of sour, but with some stabs of bitterness to counterbalance the whole thing.  Hoping this is the first of a whole series of chocolate factory demise-themed beers.

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Jester King Moderne Dansk

Over halfway through January, and i'm finally getting around to writing about my Christmas beers.  All year long, i pick up bottles to store and save and age for use over my holiday, and here i am.  Moderne Dansk from Jester King is a 7.1% ABV wild ale aged in aged in Danish cherry wine barrels and refermented with Danish Stvensbaer cherry juice.  I picked one of these up over Father's Day weekend and had been waiting anxiously for it ever since.  Pouring a deep reddish hue with a pink head, the beer smells of cherries (naturally) and some subtle hints of oak.  The flavor is a tart, but not too tart, mix of cherry and oak with a slight hint of alcohol, a wonderful meal accompaniment.

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NXNW Iron Mermaiden

So yesterday, i completed my goal of hitting 40 (which later became 50) breweries/brewpubs over the summer of 2019, kicking things off Memorial Day Weekend and closing them out this Labor Day Weekend.  Magic number 50 ended up being Austin's NXNW Restaurant and Brewery who happened to be celebrating their 20th anniversary.  To celebrate, they were offering up a batch of their Iron Mermaiden, a sour, barrel-aged Irish stout brewed with tart cherries.  Pouring black with tan and foamy head, the 6.5% ABV beer smells of malt, oak, cherries, and a whole lot of sour funk.  The flavor is sour and malty, but with the sweetness of the cherries taking over a little bit more on the back end.  Overall, a pretty well balanced brew, and a great way to end my summer quest.  Good job everybody!

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Black Star Co-op Wish You Were Queer

Laying off the Spokane brews for now, as i could probably wind down the year writing about another one every week, and circling back to Austin.  Wish You Were Queer is a sour fruited ale from Black Star Co-op, a 6.5% ABV brew that pours a thick, hazy gold with a white head.  Aromas of fruit and tartness abound while notes of peach and passion fruit round out the flavor in a concoction that never gets too sour.  And sales of the beer benefit Out Youth, so goodness all around.

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