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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7.6/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 6 Overall 7.5
750ml bottle. Tart, funky and oaky with some sourness, mineraly and vinegary notes, spices and yeastiness, hints of floral notes. Okay, quite tart and funky.
Tried from Bottle on 24 Apr 2021 at 13:23

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bottle. Pours hazy pinkish peach, small white head, minimal residual. Aroma is delicate cherries, mineral, stone fruit skins, bugs, lemon. Flavor is light plus tart, light funk, restrained fruit, mineral and oaky notes.
Tried from Bottle on 22 Apr 2021 at 01:56

8.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9
Bottle. Master of Malt. Soft haze on a pale yellow gold. Super sturdy, dense, lasting, bright white head. Nose has clean and sharp, lemony brett. Sawn wood. Box fresh Draper’s. Plenty of bright flora and aromatic herb. Taste is sharp and tart, with a creamy sweetness, and some punchy, fruity and herbal bitterness. Clean and refreshingly sharp on the palate. Foamy carbonation. Tart and refreshing finish. Lovely stuff.
Tried from Bottle on 21 Apr 2021 at 19:40

8.8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9
Bottle. Master of Malt. 2017 bottle. Hazed medium gold. Fine, dense ring of white. Nose on this is full of oak and vanilla. Lime. Some sweet citrus. Soft brett. Some soggy peach and some melon. Taste is tart and juicy with lots of vanilla sweetness. Clean and super juicy on the palate. Fine carbonation. Big fruity and juicy finish. It seems Rare Barrel beers do extremely well with some age on them.
Tried from Bottle on 20 Apr 2021 at 19:33

8/10
Tried on 19 Apr 2021 at 13:52

8/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bottle at ash's. Pours hazy yellow, nose is funky, oak, ginger, citrus, taste is tart, zesty, funk, chewy toffee, light fiery ginger.
Tried from Bottle on 19 Apr 2021 at 12:51

7.8/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8
Bottle thanks to Stuu666. Pours hazy yellow with a thin white head. Light warming ginger notes, light sour. Taste is oak, ginger, vanilla, light sour. Nicely balanced, full-bodied.
Tried from Bottle on 19 Apr 2021 at 12:44

7.9/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 8 Flavor 8 Texture 8 Overall 8.5
Bottle thanks to Stuu666. Appearance - cloudy orange with an off white head. Nose - citrus, wood and ginger. Taste - ginger, lime and wood again. Palate - medium bodied, lovely acidity. Overall - very nice.
Tried from Bottle on 19 Apr 2021 at 12:35

8.9/10 Appearance 8 Aroma 9 Flavor 9 Texture 8 Overall 9.5
Bottle. 2017 vintage. Master of Malt. Hazed deep orange colour. Slim and super dense, lasting white head. Nose has fresh vanilla pod. Vanilla oak. Zested sweet orange. Orange sorbet. Touch of sweaty, leathery brett. Taste has a lovely bittersweet character. Tart and sharp with a sugared jelly sweetness. Clean and refreshing on the palate, with a juicy tartness. Fine and brisk carbonation. Juicy and sweet vanilla oak to finish. Don’t get the low ratings for this. Maybe it needs plenty of time in the bottle? Glorious stuff.
Tried from Bottle on 18 Apr 2021 at 19:10

6.6/10 Appearance 6 Aroma 7 Flavor 6.5 Texture 7 Overall 6.5
Süffiger Beginn, Holz, viel Kirsche. Spritzig, weich, Nuancen von Vanille, die Kirscharomen bleiben intensiv. Würzig, mittellanger Abgang, spritzig. 9/11/10/10//10
Tried from Bottle on 05 Mar 2021 at 21:10