Thornbridge Brewery The Heart Desires

The Heart Desires

 

Thornbridge Brewery in Bakewell, Derbyshire, England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

  Sour / Wild Beer - Flavoured Special
Score
7.34
ABV: 6.5% IBU: - Ticks: 40
This beer is part of a project we have been working on at the brewery for a few years now. We wanted to create a modern sour ale aged in barrels, with the same complexity and depth of flavour which our favourite sours from the USA offer. This beer started life as a simple blonde ale with low bitterness and was fermented with our house yeast. We then aged this in Burgundy barrels with the fruit for well over a year.

Adding cultures of Brettanomyces, Pedicoccus and Lactobacillus at set points let us sour the beer gradually over many months and give layers of flavour that can only be developed over time. The fruit aroma and flavours compliment the sharp sourness which subsides for more malt and yeast character to come through. The resulting beer is a clean, zingy and intense blend of fruity tartness with intimations of crisp Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
 

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7.1
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

375ml bottle from the brewery. Pours a cloudy orange with a white head. Aromas & tastes of tart gooseberry, white grape, apple & funky Brett. Medium body. Sharp dry tart finish.

Tried from Bottle on 25 Nov 2025 at 13:53


6.5
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bottle from the Thornbridge online shop. Green apple, gooseberry & kiwifruit aromas. Taste is zesty lemon, green apple & gooseberry. Very tart, dry & fruity.

Tried from Bottle at Thornbridge Brewery Tap on 16 Jun 2025 at 07:38


8

Nice, light fruity base with a tart, dry finish. Class once again.

Tried on 05 Apr 2025 at 22:29


7.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle at ash's. Pours golden, nose is funk, gooseberry, oak, light grape, taste is tart, zesty, berries, funk, sharp citrus. 7/3/8/4/15

Tried on 10 Feb 2025 at 11:12


7.4
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Tried from Bottle on 07 Feb 2025 at 10:56


7.3
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5

Bottle from the beer club. Pours lightly hazy golden with a short-lived thin white head. Aromas are funky lemon, wood and gooseberry. Taste is woody and funky. Light sour finish.

Tried on 31 Jan 2025 at 16:35


7
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Bottle thanks to allmyvinyl.
Appearance - golden and fairly clear. Very thin white head.
Nose - funk and lemon, honey, with some wood.
Taste - more of the same. Woody and funky.
Palate - medium bodied, tangy and funky with gentle sourness on the finish.
Overall - quite nice.

Tried from Appellation Wines (Comely Bank) on 27 Jan 2025 at 13:54


6.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

bottle at ashs ....golden amber ...thin white lacing ...soft dry herbal lemon fruit nose ...soft dry acidic ..soft dry fruit ..long sharp fruit ..long acidic fruit

Tried from Bottle on 27 Jan 2025 at 13:48


7
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7

Found at the back of a shelf in the bar at home & 18 months past BBD. Tart, earthy & gooseberry aroma. Medium bodied, extremely dry & clean. Taste is similar to aroma with gooseberry, earthy, white wine & veast tastes & a tart finish. Surprisingly good.

Tried from Bottle on 29 Dec 2024 at 22:09


6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Bottled@Littlepub, Vaasa. Hazy orangeish golden colour with a small white head. Aroma is funk, some fruits, vinegar, mild yeast as well as some herbs. Flavour is herbs, mild sour wood, some lemon and yeasty tones. Somewhat watery, quite bland in the end.

Tried from Bottle on 25 Oct 2023 at 21:03