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.
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Draught @ The Rare Barrel, Berkeley, CA
Pours orange with a smooth white head. Aroma of tart fruits, spices, wood, oak and yeast. Taste is smooth, tartish fruity and exotic spicy with some wood, sour vinegar, vanilla, grainy malts and yeast. Finish is smooth, grainy and yeasty with some sourish vinegar, tart fruits, oak and wood. Almost like drinking a mix of a sour saison and some green tea.
Pours orange with a smooth white head. Aroma of tart fruits, spices, wood, oak and yeast. Taste is smooth, tartish fruity and exotic spicy with some wood, sour vinegar, vanilla, grainy malts and yeast. Finish is smooth, grainy and yeasty with some sourish vinegar, tart fruits, oak and wood. Almost like drinking a mix of a sour saison and some green tea.
Tried
on 09 May 2014
at 18:44
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Draught @ The Rare Barrel, Berkeley, CA
Pours reddish orange with a smooth head. Aroma of strawberry juice, tart vinegar, wood, oak, yeast. Taste is smooth and juicy with some tart strawberry notes, oak, wood and vinegar. Finish is tart, juicy and woody with some strawberry notes. Quite an unique beer once again from these guys.
Pours reddish orange with a smooth head. Aroma of strawberry juice, tart vinegar, wood, oak, yeast. Taste is smooth and juicy with some tart strawberry notes, oak, wood and vinegar. Finish is tart, juicy and woody with some strawberry notes. Quite an unique beer once again from these guys.
Tried
on 09 May 2014
at 17:55
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draught @ The Rare Barrel, Berkeley, CA
Pours dark reddish brown with a smooth white head. Aroma of coffee, cocoa, wood, vinegar and tart berries. Taste is sourish with massive coffee flavors, cocoa, wood, oak and vinegary yeastiness. Finish is tart, sourish and vinegary with loads of coffee, cocoa and wood. Quite an unique beer.
Pours dark reddish brown with a smooth white head. Aroma of coffee, cocoa, wood, vinegar and tart berries. Taste is sourish with massive coffee flavors, cocoa, wood, oak and vinegary yeastiness. Finish is tart, sourish and vinegary with loads of coffee, cocoa and wood. Quite an unique beer.
Tried
on 09 May 2014
at 17:28
8/10
Sour coffee?! What is this I don't even... still very tasty though!
Tried
on 09 May 2014
at 17:23
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Draught @ Mikkeller Bar, San Francisco
Pours golden orange with a smooth white head. Aroma of tart fruits, wood, bretta, citrus and hops. Taste is smooth, mildly sour with some mild bretta, tart citrusy fruits and hops. Finish is tart fruity, hoppy and mildly sourish with some wood, vinegar and yeast. Quite interesting and refreshing sour.
Pours golden orange with a smooth white head. Aroma of tart fruits, wood, bretta, citrus and hops. Taste is smooth, mildly sour with some mild bretta, tart citrusy fruits and hops. Finish is tart fruity, hoppy and mildly sourish with some wood, vinegar and yeast. Quite interesting and refreshing sour.
Tried
on 09 May 2014
at 12:37
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Tap. Pours hazy reddish chestnut, small beige head, good lacing. Aroma us tart cherry, oak tannin. Flavor is medium sweet, medium tart, cherries, oak, nutty, a bit of finishing funk.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 May 2014
at 21:17
8.1/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 7.5
Tap. Pours hazy golden, medium creamy white head, good lacing. Aroma is fruity, lemon, a bit peppery, floral, interesting spices. Flavor is light sweet, light tart, perhaps ginger and green peppercorn? Medium body, spritzy. Nice. Not really getting a lot of coriander, which is not a bad thing for me.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 May 2014
at 20:58
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Tap. Pours hazy golden yellow, small white head, some lacing. Aroma is lemon, green tea, oak, somewhat herbal. Flavor is very tea and lemon forward, medium tart. Light body. Finishes like tea dregs and lemon juice. Interesting....
Tried
from Draft
on 01 May 2014
at 20:35
7.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Tap. Batch 2 . Pours clear chestnut, medium beige creamy head, nice lacing. Aroma is coffee, a bit of oak, tart cherry. Flavor is coffee forward initially, quickly giving way to tart cherries, oak tannins, a bit of ashtray. dry finish, medium body, puckeringly lingering tartness. Almost too much tartness.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 May 2014
at 20:04
7.9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Tap. Pours clear to hazy golden, small white head, great lacing. Aroma is sea air, light lemon, oak. Flavor is the same, light, fruity, oaky, refreshing. Touch of initial sweetness, dries out fast, light tart. Light body. Hugely drinkable.
Tried
from Draft
on 01 May 2014
at 19:43