Bullfrog Blue Cheer

Formerly brewed at Bullfrog Brewery
Style: Sour Ale
Williamsport, Pennsylvania USA

RBSG ’08: Poured a hazed amber color with a large off-white head. Definite sour aroma with mild fruits giving it some balance. The flavor is tart and acidic. A real nice fruit taste. Light bodied.

22 fl oz bottle. Pours murky brown with a lacing white head. Fruity and acidic aroma. Acidic and fruity flavour. Mild caramel malty base yet distinct brett and fruity. Acidic to citgric finish. Nice fruity and light wooden finish.

Tasted at Stone 08 Sour Fest by BrianK and at RBSG 08. What a great sour. Amber color. Medium tartness. Nice oaky finish.

Corked and Caged bottle generously shared by BrianK at the Stone sour fest, he brought this out for me to try and I’m really happy he did, thanks dude. Pours red with a pink head. Nose is sweet tart and sour. Taste is sweet and tart with big bourbon notes, this is all around interesting. Its got bourbon fruit and its quite dry. Very nice and very different.

As I pop the cork it fizzes up with foam just a bit, though not quite a gusher. The beer pours into my large Tripel Karmeliet tulip with a nicely fruit stained, pale purple tinged, dirty pink colored head that starts out a fat three-fingers in height. The beer is a very dark, purple plum color that shows a hazy, cherry jolly rancher color when held up to the light. The berries are noticeable as soon as I start to pour this beer; The berry notes are quite volatile, though they get overwhelmed by the funk when I dive in for a deeper inspection of the nose. Earthy, musty, almost mushroom like notes lie just beneath the more dominant tart aromatics. This has notes to it that are similar to an oak aged red wine; a mixture of spicy, woody oak, a tannic note (despite this not being an aromatic compound) and of course the underlying berry notes. An extended dedicated, sniffing of the aroma at first yields a soft oak component and an almost nutty or grassy note, but then this is followed by a bright, ripe berry aroma that is more striking than I had previously noticed.

The first sip of this is quite dry and tart enough to make my cheeks pucker in just a bit. It picks up a fullness to the body in the middle and finish that compliments the dryness and the tartness quite well. The tartness has a nice roundness to it that makes me guess that at least a portion of the sourness is contributed directly from the fruit, though there is certainly more than would ever be contributed by fruit alone. Despite the rounded character, the sourness here is mostly lactic influenced. This finishes with a spiciness from the oak that adds a touch of warmth. While this does not have a ripe berry flavor to it this still is very berry influenced, the fruit really adds a dimension to this beer that is very evocative of red wine. It is quite interesting how the oak and the fruit really contribute a new world, red wine type note to the flavor; it is not the dominant note here, but definitely plays a significant role.

I really like the soft, almost creamy mouthfeel that this beer has. As it warms up it starts to pick up a touch of heat in the finish that is reminiscent of Bourbon. A second pour of this after a short break reminds me how sour this really is; while not at the same intensity as a "hard" Lambic, this is certainly as sour as many a traditional Lambic I have had. I really like the tart berry flavors that run through the flavor profile. This is a very tasty brew, if I had to complain it would be on the complexity. While I really like the interplay of acidity, berry flavors and barrel notes it could use a bit more funk to balance the other notes.

750ml bottle thanks to jason....pours a dark currant red with a fluffy medium pink fizzy head....aroma was very light and not too assertive. subtle blueberries come through as well as a little sour oak. couldn’t detect much bourbon..... flavors consisted of blueberries upfron, mildly sour and acidic, with a gentle touch of bourbon which wasn’t too pronounced. carbonation level and dryness were a bit too much which devoided it of much flavor....still refreshing on a summer day though.

750ml bottle. thanks kan for sharing! pours dark red with pink foamy head that quickly fizzles out. nose isn’t very vibrant, some berries, vanilla, and oak. flavors are initially touch sour, berry, oak, a bit flabby. thin and overcarbonated. not a bad beer but lacked complexities in the fruit and wild yeast.

Shared by puzzl. It pours a beautiful purple color with a pink head that fades quickly. Aroma is funk-cheese with lots of tart berries and even a bit of dry earthiness. Taste is very-berry, dominating, with lots of good natural tartness. Lightly acidic berry-tart finish and lightly drying at the end. The carbonation is strong (despite the stubborn cork) and works wonderful with the sharp tart berries . It’s actually just really fun to drink, a berry attack on the palate, even if its not intensely sour. Have I mentioned berry?
750mL, Oerbier stemmed snifter.