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.
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle 375ml @ home
Pours hazy red with a few off-white bubbles. Aroma has notes of malt, tartness, funk and sour cherries. Taste is light sweet and medium sour with a long dry, tart, funky and cherry finish. Body is medium to full, texture is thin to oily, carbonation is soft.
Pours hazy red with a few off-white bubbles. Aroma has notes of malt, tartness, funk and sour cherries. Taste is light sweet and medium sour with a long dry, tart, funky and cherry finish. Body is medium to full, texture is thin to oily, carbonation is soft.
Tried
from Bottle
on 14 Sep 2021
at 20:45
8.5/10
Funky farmyard, Brett, grainy dry ckean butyric
Tried
from Bottle
on 09 Sep 2021
at 23:29
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle, 2016. Pours mostly clear golden orange, small white head, hint of lacing. Aroma is buggy, oak, lemon, gueuze, faint hint of rotting wood. Flavor is medium tart, medium funk. Merlin body, low carbonation. Still interesting, but j don't think it has improved with age.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Sep 2021
at 01:32
8/10
Lots and lots and lots of ginger and carrot is obviously there from the color, sushi ginger vibes, but not overly spicy, just the sweetness. Golden ale base is strong and this is much less acidic than the rare barrel usuals, I like the weirdness of this.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Aug 2021
at 21:52
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
From can to glass. Dank, grape must, papaya and guava. Pours a turbid yellow with small, off-white head. Retains as a collar of small bubbles and a dusting over the top. Grape must and orange flavor. Sweet yeast in the back half of the palate.
Tried
from Can
on 22 Aug 2021
at 04:11
8.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Can from City Beer Store as part of the second delivery of their Father’s Day packs. A great addition! Pours turbid golden-honey with moderate off-white head that slowly fades. Topical fruit of melon and guava aroma. Slight dank. Flavor is massive injection of dank and papaya. High bitterness for an NEIPA that works well here. A bit astringent and nice dry finish. Great beer!
Tried
from Can
on 18 Aug 2021
at 03:39
8.2/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Pours clear golden yellow, small white head, some lacing. Aroma is funky mineral lemon. Flavor is light tart, light plus funk, bright hops. Light body, soft mouthfeel. Nice
Tried
from Bottle
on 07 Aug 2021
at 00:49
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
On tap at Someday. Pours orange brown. Funk, vinegar, cherry, sweet cherry, orange zest, tangerine, oaky vanilla. Medium body. Good.
Tried
from Draft
on 03 Aug 2021
at 23:57
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Bottle. Pours clear golden, small white head, stone lacing. Aroma is passionfruit, guava, lemon, musty funk. Flavor is light tart, light plus funk, tropical brightness. Light body.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 Aug 2021
at 04:23
7.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Bottle sample at a tasting at Yoav's place. Cloudy yellow. Funky, vinous, oak, a bit spicy, earthy, citric, sour. Very good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Aug 2021
at 18:47