Arctic Craft Patientia Sour

Growler: Thanks BeerandBlues2! Pours a headless hazy deep copper color with no clarity. Aroma has some sweet & tart apple cider, candied malt notes, a hint of vinous character and a very mild note of fig as well. Slick and thin bodied. Flavor has some lactic cultures. Mildly tart, mainly acetic with vinegar notes. Has a touch of cinnamon apple cider and a yogurt like sharpness. Some candied malt comes out as well. A bit simple and one dimensional. Although it doesn’t have the complexity of many Sour Ales it’s highly drinkable, and cider-like.

On tap @ Arctic Craft poured a hazy copper with a minimal off white head. Aromas of citrus, wood, light leather and lighjt barnyard. Palate was light bodied and crisp with a dry finish. Flavors of sour citrus, sour apple and light carmel with a crisp lingering tart finish.

Draught at brewery. Pours clear amber with an average, frothy, off-white head. Aroma is average malt (meal, straw), average hops (flowers, grass), average yeast (earth) with notes of wood and wine. Medium bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation, and a bitter finish. Average duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and bitterness. A decent offering from Arctic Craft as most of their brews are rather boring.

Arctic is kinda my local hangout, if I have one. Before this, I was impressed by their Milk Stout which won a local 64 beer bracket NCAA-style between the 6 Colorado Springs breweries, and the Lager of theirs which is my personal favorite because I’m not a lager guy and this is GOOD (actually tastes like it has a brett backbone). The sour is still fresh. It’s on tap while the majority of it is aging in oak merlot casks. Not much funk or earthiness, but very sour, like candy sour, and refreshing as all get-out. I’d actually rather drink this than the duchess truth-be-told. Bristol is making a sour now too (the Cuvee), so I’ll get up there tomorrow.