Thirsty Bear Aged Cherry Ale

Brewed by Thirsty Bear Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
San Francisco, California USA

Not sure if this should be considered a sour ale as that is how the bartender positioned it, noting it has also been mixed with their Golden Hallucination Triple. This brew was a lovely chestnut brown with good head. Enticing smells of cherry, wood barrel, bourbon, and marsala. Lovely woody and mild marsala flavors with a subtle tinge of cherry. Dryish, woody merlot finish. Superbly crafted.

Sampled Falling Rock, GABF week 2008
The beer arrives with a dark, deep amber tinged, brown color and is topped by a frothy, tan colored head. The aroma has a nice full, tart cherry note to it that is rich and complex in its characterization of the cherry. Some woody oak aromas add a nice bit of spice that boosts the complexity a bit.

The beer is sweeter than I expected, but does have an overall impression of being dry, especially given the apparent tartness. Despite the lack of overt sweetness, this beer manages an amp’d up, almost candied, though somehow subtle, cherry character. Chewy cherry skin tannins add some structure and definitely coat the teeth a bit. this is very malty and rich, but this is effectively cut by the substantial tartness. This gets quite a bit more wood focused when paired with my quesadillas; this brings out flavors of spicy wood, a touch of vanillin and a finish of woody black pepper and butterscotch. Actually the food puts the wood at the forefront, even above the cherry notes, but the tartness still manages to tie everything together.

This is quite nice, I was definitely surprised how much lurking oak character was in this beer. This was definitely a nice surprise, as I almost didn’t order a beer at all before my food arrived.

Draught, Falling Rock. Head is mostly lasting. Body is dark brown. Aroma is lightly to moderately malty (toasted bread, cookie, caramel), with notes of plum, cherry, and wood. Flavor is moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly bitter. Finish is lightly to moderately sweet, moderately acidic, lightly to moderately bitter. Medium body, watery/syrupy texture, lively carbonation. Tasty stuff, as expected from this underrated brewery.

Draft at Falling Rock: Garnet plum. Creamy light-beige head. Pleasantly musty aroma of wet wool, iron, prunes, melon, and a touch of vanilla. Firm yet lush carbonation. Puckering clasp of iron-tinged lactic acidity gives way to a brisk mineral and lightly oaky grip. Leathery astringency fuses with a dab of black licorice and a flavorsome medley of black cherries and plums. Musty dryness deflects the bouncy yet understated lightly-caramelized malt character. Cleanly yeasty and good albeit subtle malt definition. Muted coconut soothes the palate as it links up with equally dainty vanilla. Finishes with an acetic bite which underscores the dark fruit medley of currant, black cherry, licorice, and dry dusting of restrained oak. While it does lack complexity, it is overall quite polished and nicely balanced. Very reminiscent of an oud bruin.

Draught at Falling Rock. Dark brown coloured with a small white head. Fruity aroma of caramel, berries and cherries with acidic notes. Fruity flavour of berries and cherries wtih notes of caramel and acidic notes. Tart finish.

On tap at Celebrator 20th Anniv. party in Oakland. Supposedly 7.2%. Dark brown...slight malt, bourbon, cherry aroma and taste. Also some marichino cherry tastes & minerals. Not a big body but interesting...I’d like to rate it again.

Draught at Falling Rock Taphouse, Denver. Dark red/brown (almost black) - offwhite head. Chocolate, high malty, ryebread, cherry, wood, light balsamic, roasted, sweetness. A bit light.

Draught at Falling Rock Tap House, GABF 2008. Pours dark brown with a large, frothy, off-white head, mostly lasting with excellent lacing. Aroma is average malt (bread, grain, straw), light hops (flowers), average yeast (earth) with notes of cherries and wood. Medium bodied, sticky texture, lively carbonation, and a sour finish. Average duration, light sweetness, moderate acidity and sourness.