Jester King Brewery Bière de Merlot

Bière de Merlot

 

Jester King Brewery in Austin, Texas, United States 🇺🇸

  Sour / Wild Beer - Flavoured Rotating
Score
7.30
ABV: 6.7% IBU: - Ticks: 11
Originally released in 2014, Bière de Merlot is a blend of barrel-aged wild ale re-fermented with Texas-grown Merlot grapes from Sulphur Bluff, TX. The quality of the Merlot grapes we received this year was absolutely outstanding. We basically just got out of their way and let them express themselves through the beauty of natural/wild fermentation.

We created a soft, drinkable blend of barrel-aged beer, processed the grapes in-house at Jester King, and added them to the beer at a ratio of about 5 pounds per gallon. We let the grapes ferment to total dryness with native yeast in the beer and on the skins of the grapes. We then naturally conditioned the beer in bottles and kegs.
 

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8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Poured from 500mL bottle (blend 2 - Sept 2022). Ruby red with small off white head. Oak and vinous grape, great balance, quite nice.

Tried from Bottle on 10 Oct 2024 at 03:56


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Blend #2. 500mL bottle, pours a clear burgundy with a small off-white head. Aroma is very vinous, with lots of red wine grape skins, plenty of wild bugs, some mustiness, plenty of oak, along with some tannins. Flavour is very vinous, with pretty prominent red grape skins, lots of musty grapes, lots of wild yeast, some oak, and some tannins. Very cohesive, with all flavour elements working well together. Complex and well-designed. Excellent.

Tried from Bottle on 10 Oct 2024 at 03:55


8.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Bottle. Pink-purpleish color with small white head. Aroma is cherries, bubblegum, a bit minerals. Taste is the same. Oily mouthfeel, soft carbonation. Lovely!

Tried from Bottle on 24 Jul 2023 at 07:33


6.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5

Tip Tap draught, 1/29/23. Clear black raspberry, or I guess merlot. Little/no head. Juicy grape, mineral, chalk, moderate tannin, low to moderate acidity. Clean, grapey, maybe not as complex as one hopes for. Soft, malty, light bodied, perhaps too much so? Holy shit this is 8.5%?! Yeah....definitely not malty enough for its size. Good merlot character, though kind of arbitrary and unremarkable. Really not very jester king-like. No personality, not funky. Odd.

Tried from Draft on 29 Jan 2023 at 21:26


6.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Pours a very nice deep crimson from a bottle. Big funk and grape aroma, even bigger flavor. Balance was good but not great. Good beer.

Tried from Bottle on 12 Dec 2022 at 00:11


8.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

On tap at the release. Pours a hazy dark purple with small pinkish head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is strong grape must, vinous, oak, some funk. Thin mouth, nice tartness, boozy, great dark grape flavor, very nice.

Tried from Draft on 30 Mar 2016 at 11:47


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

Bottle shared at RBWG ’15 Grand Tasting @ Coppertail, thanks to whomever shared this one, 21/02/15. Hazed orange with reddish hues, topped with a moderate off white covering. Nose carries light floral notes, must, funky, wood, pissy berry notes. Taste comrpises tangy dark fruit, musty wood, red berry pangs, light spice, bitter fruit peel. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with light puckerings. Solid well balanced sour.

Tried from Bottle on 30 May 2015 at 02:18


7.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Growler shared during the RBWG 2015 Grand Tasting. Pours cloudy purple with a mellow white head. Big tangy berries. Very nice, some jammy aspects to the fruits, moderate tartness. Medium bodied with average carbonation. Cleansing finish, tangy, with some puckering grapes and berries. Good stuff.

Tried from Growler on 05 Mar 2015 at 18:02


6.6
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5

Growler at Coppertail Brewing during the RBWG 2015 Grand Tasting. Brown with off-white head. Aromas of stone fruit, funk, floral, light cheese. Tastes of tart fruit, stone fruit, light vinegar. Medium body with a dry finish.

Tried from Growler on 01 Mar 2015 at 20:37


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

RBWG. Pours dark brown. Nose/taste of merlot, sour oak, funky grape and red wine. Medium body.

Tried on 01 Mar 2015 at 00:28