Served at cellar temperature from a 750ml bottle, split across two wine glasses. Deep ruby, brilliantly clear, with a pink-tinged head that does not last.
Burdock Brewery have built this on pils / wheat with Aged in the kettle. 6.8%, 12 IBU: unremarkable numbers on paper, and the beer is better for it.
The aroma writes a cheque the palate very nearly cashes. What arrives is drier and quieter than the nose promises, and while the finish is clean, a point of the score disappears into the gap between the two.
It holds together across a second glass, which is not guaranteed at 6.8%. The bitterness accumulates rather than fatigues, and the aroma is still doing something by the bottom of the second pour, which is the real test of a solera-aged golden sour.
Time in foeder has rounded the acidity into something you can drink rather than survive. There is a softness across the middle that stainless never produces, and the wood shows as texture rather than flavour.
Beers like this are why the wild section of this site exists at all. Burdock Brewery have been making it for long enough that the consistency is no longer surprising, which does nothing to make it less impressive. If you are anywhere near Toronto, ON, go and buy it from the source.
Bought at Burdock Bloordale (allocation at the time of writing). The most age-worthy beer brewed in this city. Buy three, open one.
We will buy this again at full price, which is the only recommendation that costs us anything.
