My first Ale Apothecary and apparently one of their flagship beers, a strong sour with honey aged on wine barrels. From a 75 cl bottle with cork, muselet and hangtag with a text referring to a very generic beer past. Quite thick, egg-white, plastery lacing, stable head slowly opening here and there, initially clear pale orange-hued 'old gold' robe turning misty and eventually cloudy with sediment, with a deeper peachy hue. Complex, expressive nose: dry white wine, unripe nectarine, purple gooseberries, raw rhubarb, green apple, grape peel, dusty cellar and old wood, lemon peel, artisanal honey indeed, dry cider, calvados, minerals, fresh orange, dry hay, redcurrant, very faint hint of non-disturbing metal (copper?). Very crisp onset, fizzy and minerally carbonation, lots of fruity esters and sourness but with a sweetish core, gooseberries, redcurrant, unripe plum, green apple, touch of lime; full, rounded mouthfeel, soft bready malt core soaked in fruity sourness, turning a bit acidic and lemony towards the end, when retronasally a 'wild' honey effect sets in along with well-measured tannic woodiness, grape peel aspects and a hint of green bitter weeds. Strong dry white wine effect in the tail but still harbouring this ripe grape sweetishness as well, supporting but nowhere overcoming the ongoing lactic and fruity sourness. The flavours are all highlighted by a soothing afterglow of calvados-like alcohol, but in a subtle way for a beer this strength - in other words, the alcohol as a whole remains remarkably well in place. A deep, brief and volatile earthy hop bitterish note provides structure without interfering with this sour fruity profile. I know now where this Oregon brewery gets its reputation: this is by all means a world class sour ale, nowhere too harshly puckering but remaining well-behaved, noble, complex and still intense. It's been a long time since I had an American sour ale at this quality level; very stimulating to buy more bottles from this brewery, in spite of the price tag. Masterpiece in its specific style!

Sehr süffiger und saurer Beginn, Rosmarin, vergorener Honig, intensiv. Spritzig, leicht steigende Säure, helles Holz. Vollmundig, langer saurer Abgang, gut! 9/12/12/13//13

750ml bottle @Luppolo Station (Rome). Ambrata scarica, lievemente torbida, schiuma avorio media, molto persistente. Al naso esplosione balsamica con notte di sottobosco, aghi di pino, frutta matura. In bocca è vinosa, lattica, tart, citrica, equilibrata e di classe, alcol inesistente. Corpo medio, carbonazione media. Evocativa, complessa, strepitosa.