The Rare Barrel
Microbrewery
in
Berkeley,
California,
United States 🇺🇸
Owned by
Cellarmaker Brewing Company
Associated Venue: The Rare Barrel
Established in 2012
Contact
Description
Picture yourself eating a handful of red raspberries, drinking a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade, or sipping on a glass of fine wine. Those sour, tart, and acidic flavors you are currently imagining are what makes sour beer taste quite different from traditional beers. These flavors, which are unique to sour beers, are the product of time and the right mix of microorganisms. While our sour beers age in oak barrels for an average of one year, a blend of microorganisms will shape the sour, tart, and acidic flavors that we’ve come to desire. Yes, sour beers take an exceptionally long time to develop, but we think that sour beers are well worth the wait.
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle thanks to Rainer. Pours a cloudy yellow with medium white head that lasts. The aroma is watermelon seed, citrus, oak. Slick body, oak, funky, lemon zest, light tartness, dry finish, very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Jun 2022
at 01:09
9.2/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
Hazy golden, merlin white head, good retention and lacing. Beautiful hoppy, funky Aroma, mosaic and brett, bright, tropical citrus, basement. Flavor is very light tart, light plus funk. Light body. Home run.
Tried
on 05 Jun 2022
at 23:31
8.5/10
Melon galore. Not my favorite era of New Order but hopefully this song will be in my head all weekend. Pic: the clear one.
Tried
on 04 Jun 2022
at 21:21
6.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Bottle. Pours clear magenta, medium off white head, fizzy but with decent residual. Aroma is vinous, brett, dust, musty basement. Flavor is dry, light plus tart, light plus funk with a musty sharpness to it. Merlin body. Did not hold up like the CsT
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 May 2022
at 02:45
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle, 375ml. A pinkish orangey and lightly hazy beer with a white head. Berry-driven sour aroma with some vinegar and a good dash of cherry. Strawberry too, in a lightly overripe way. Redcurrant, some pale malts and a faint yeasty touch too. It's tart, medium to full-bodied and nicely carbonated. Redcurrant, strawberry, cherry hints, lemon, vinegar notes, oak and a quite vinous touch. Leather, barnyard and a touch of horseblanket. Lasting tart, lemony finish. Nice, but not a beer to drink alone. 220516
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 May 2022
at 15:53
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Pours clear golden yellow, merlin fizzy white head that dissipates quickly to nothing. Aroma is bugs, stonefruit, oak, lemon. Flavor is light tart, light funk, apricot, underripe peach. Light body, fizzy carb.
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 May 2022
at 01:22
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Poured from an undated 16 oz can. Aroma is hop forward and fruity with lots of grapefruit, dank, oily resin, tangerine and lighter notes of red berries and hints of gooseberries. Light cracker malt notes and hints of alcohol. Pours a very hazy, dull, golden color with a medium large, thick, pillowy, white head that recedes slowly to a small film that lingers. Medium lacing and small legs. Flavor is somewhat sweet with light cracker malt notes. Moderate bitterness and faint alcohol notes. Lots of grapefruit, red berries, gooseberries and light notes of tangerine, tropical fruit and dank, resin, oily notes. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, a solid hazy pale ale. Fairly strong hop notes, but the berry notes aren't my preferred profile. I prefer brighter nelson sauvin than enigma / el dorado hops. Balanced malt profile and bitterness.
Tried
from Can
on 06 May 2022
at 07:48
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Poured from an undated 16 oz can. Aroma is hop forward with a fruity, yet classic West Coast profile. Lots of grapefruit and tangerine with light notes of passion fruit, mango and dank, pine resin. Light cracker malt notes and hints of alcohol. Pours a rather clear, slightly pale, golden color with a medium large, thick, pillowy, white head that recedes slowly to a small film that lingers on the edges. Light lacing and small legs. Flavor has a light sweetness with medium light to light cracker malt notes. Fairly strong bitterness with light alcohol notes. Moderately strong hop notes of grapefruit, tangerine, passion fruit and stone fruit with lighter notes of dank, oily pine resin that lingers a bit in the finish. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, a decent West Coast IPA. Malt profile and bitterness are not a bit on the light side, but it works with the fruitier, brighter hop profile.
Tried
from Can
on 05 May 2022
at 07:07
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Poured from an undated 16 oz can. Aroma is very fruity and hop forward with lots of pineapple, tangerine, tropical citrus, coconut, passion fruit and mango. Light cracker malt notes and hints of alcohol. Pours a hazy, pale, golden straw color with a medium large, thick, pillowy, white head that recedes slowly to a small film that lingers. Medium light lacing and small legs. Flavor is fairly sweet with light cracker malt notes. Medium bitterness and light alcohol notes. Very fruity and hop forward with loads of pineapple, tangerine and tropical citrus. Lighter notes of coconut, passion fruit, and mango. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall, a solid hazy IPA. I'm a sucker for sabro hops though so this hits many of my favorite hazy hop notes. Could be a bit more dank, but still really good.
Tried
from Can
on 04 May 2022
at 05:42
7.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Pours orange gold with medium white head that lasts. The aroma is strong vanilla, wood, peach, spice, funk. Medium body, cinnamon, peach flesh, dry finish, very nice.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 May 2022
at 04:11