The Rare Barrel

Microbrewery in Berkeley, California, United States 🇺🇸
Owned by Cellarmaker Brewing Company
Associated Venue: The Rare Barrel

Established in 2012

Contact
940 Parker St, Berkeley, CA, CA 94710, United States
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.

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7.8/10 Appearance 10 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
Bottle. Pours clear golden ruby, small white head, good lacing. Aroma is dusty, bugs, oak, raspberries, yogurt, funk, mineral. Flavor is medium tart, light plus funk, light berries, yogurt, mineral water. Merlin body, bracing carbonation. This one is gonna leave a mark.
Tried from Bottle on 17 Dec 2021 at 02:51

7/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 8
Bottle. Pours a hazy yellow gold with small white head. The aroma is passion fruit, lemon zest, oak. Thin body, citrus, pepper, passion fruit, tart, light dry finish, very good.
Tried from Bottle on 12 Dec 2021 at 23:45

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Carefully cellared bottle. Pours clear orange, small off white head, some lacing. Aroma is oak tannin, bugs, lemon, hint of basement and aged cheese. Flavor is medium tart, light plus funk, citrus and tannin. A bit low on carb. Medium body. Remains a lovely beer
Tried from Bottle on 12 Dec 2021 at 01:26

8.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 8.5
Wonderful beer. Pink guava and crackery grapefruit. Lime. Some mango. Pinkish yellow hazy pour. Tangy finish. Great balance and rich aroma. I'm a sucker for pink guava. Bottle from Dominion.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Nov 2021 at 03:55

8.1/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
750ml bottle pours a transparent purple with a ring of white head. Nose has funk, weirdly green and funky out of the gate, vinous, woodsy too with some savory herbs, lemon juice or grapefruit lurking. Flavor has a lot of grape, some neutral barrel which also helps with some tannins, savory herbs, a little malt lurking, biscuit even, some light balsamic. Finishes fairly full bodied, lightly tart. Very cool.
Tried from Bottle on 18 Nov 2021 at 19:06

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 8
11-14-21 CBC
Tried on 15 Nov 2021 at 02:40

7.3/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 7
On tap at Shelter, DC. Pours red with small white head. Some berries, fruity, bit herbal, moderate sourness. Bit lactic. Medium bodied.
Tried from Draft at Shelter on 10 Nov 2021 at 19:25

7.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 6 Overall 8
At Snallygaster. Poured a clear golden orange color with a small white head. Really pleasant tartness. Some sweet notes. Woody notes. Currant. Nice stuff.
Tried on 06 Nov 2021 at 05:48

8/10
Strawberry yogurt, lactic acid. Super tart,
Tried from Draft on 31 Oct 2021 at 20:40

9/10
This is more like it. Smells heavy sour, oaky, currants. Taste is much more subtle and complex, still sour but not overpoweringly so. Lots of fruit, but not in front of everything else. Excellent cleanser, with loads of flavour and great balance.
Tried from Bottle on 29 Oct 2021 at 22:00