So yeah, mead casks. I've actually been meaning to talk about mead; what once was a staple only of Renaissance fairs has now become mainstream and available at numerous beer stores both in the bottle and by the can. Mead is essentially just fermented honey, although craft meads are popping up with fancy ingredients like blueberry, basil, pumpkin, ginger, and lemon. Mead is an acquired taste, and I'm curious to see how the mead cask affects this beer; I'm assuming some of the sourness will be imparted. Let's find out.
It pours a light gold, and generates a thin, white head. There's a ton of little bubbles, and has no "legs" or lacing.
The nose is sour, for sure - wood sour, but not in a boozy way. Like a light, closer-to-a-gose kind of way.
If I was doing a blind taste test, I'd think this is a cider. It has a crispness, like a cider, and a sourness that's quite pronounced. The hops aren't terribly bright, and there's no bready "beer flavors". As the beer develops, and I swish around the sediment, some surprisingly-sweet notes begin to present themselves and continue through the finish. There's really not any bitterness at all.
So overall very interesting, and definitely not what I was expecting. I was figuring on this being perhaps a hazy IPA with some additional sweetness imparted by the barrels, but as it turns out this is more like a cider. The slightly-astringent texture and light body is definitely mead-like, as well. Since this isn't that bitter, I feel it would be an excellent choice for someone who may not be into bitter IPAs. At $14.99 for four, it's a bit expensive. Also - notice that under the name of the beer, there's a little "Volume No. 1". I wonder if this will be an ongoing thing, kinda like Firestone Walker's "Luponic Distortion" series. We'll find out, I guess!
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