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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7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Bottle. Pours dark brown tan head. Nose/taste of dark fruit, cocoa, oak, sour dark cherry. Medium body.
Tried from Bottle on 18 Dec 2014 at 00:09

7.4/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
Bottle shared by Jeff, thanks! Pours a hazy light gold with a white head that dissipates immediately and completely. Aroma is ginger forward with barrel and light tart fruits backing. Flavor has sour fruits up front with more barrel and ginger in the finish.
Tried from Bottle on 15 Dec 2014 at 22:36

7.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 8
Poured from a 750 ml bottle. Aroma is fairly acidic with a nice lactic sourness with quite a bit of lemon and hints of orange. Medium light oak character. Moderate tropical fruit, especially pineapple with a bit of cherry and a light barnyard funkiness. Pours a cloudy, pale, cloudy, golden orange with a moderately sized, moderately thick white head that recedes fairly quickly to the edges where it lingers. Light lacing and small legs. Flavor has a medium light acidity with moderate citrus, especially lemon and orange. Low bitterness. Moderate pineapple and tropical fruit with hints of cherry and some nice stone fruit. Light barnyard funkiness with medium light oak notes. Mouthfeel is medium light bodied with medium carbonation. Low astringency with low alcohol warmth. Overall, a pretty nice sour beer, without being bitingly sour. Nice oak character compliments the acidity with a really nice Brett character. Overpriced, but I like it a lot.
Tried from Bottle on 28 Nov 2014 at 22:10

8.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 9.5
Bottle thanks to Will. Pours a cloudy orange with paperthin white head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is oak, hibiscus, funk. Thin mouth with nice tart hibiscus, oak, cheese, funk, very nice.
Tried from Bottle on 17 Nov 2014 at 18:12

7.2/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 6 Flavor 7 Texture 8 Overall 9
Bottle thanks to Will. Pours a cloudy orange yellow with small frothy white head that diminishes to nothing. The aroma is faint citrus and yeast. Medium mouthfeel, light brett, lemon, oak. Very good.
Tried from Bottle on 17 Nov 2014 at 17:44

8.2/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 10 Overall 8
GABF 2014. This was one of the best beers I had at the festival. Gold color. Aroma has lots of apricot and yeast. Dry flavor, with apricot and lots of sour flavor. Excellent.
Tried on 15 Nov 2014 at 13:53

7.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7.5
GABF 2014. Pours a clear golden orange appearance with an off white head. There’s some yogurt and lactic notes to go with some stone fruits and lemon. Oak and coconut as well. Cool beer.
Tried on 14 Nov 2014 at 18:43

7.5/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 7
GABF 2014. Pours a touch hazy golden orange appearance with an off white head. A little cheesy. Some pink lemonade notes along with some grapefruit. Grass, cheese, and some spicy notes. Not fucken bad.
Tried on 14 Nov 2014 at 18:42

7.4/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 7 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 6.5
GABF 2014. Pours a pretty clear golden orange appearance with a white head. High acidity. Some stone fruit along with a little bit of white wine. A little vanilla and coconut. A little too sour but kinda fun nonetheless.
Tried on 14 Nov 2014 at 18:40

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Sample at the 2014 Infected Chimipalooza on 11/01/2014. Murky brownish-amber color with a medium light beige head that recedes steadily. Stringy lacing on the glass. Aroma of berries, yeast and malt. Medium-bodied with flavors of tart cherries, oaky vanilla and funky yeast. The finish is funky dark fruits and oak. Good beer all around.
Tried from Bottle on 11 Nov 2014 at 10:34