The first Tangent (initially called Rabbit Hole) experimental barrel series release saw Little Bang run a saison through gin-soaked shiraz barrels, creating a super complex array of aromas and flavours. Now the brewers have jumped down the rabbit hole for a second time, releasing a blend of three different beer styles housed in three different barrels. The blending session must have been a beauty with a Flanders red from grenache barrels, a gold lambic style ale from chardonnay barrels complete with cherries, and an oud bruin aged in cabernet sauvignon barrels, again with cherries, merged into a 6.5 percent ABV concoction.
"Wow, check out that colour!" was the first thought to punch through the mind: a bright, vibrant deep red not dissimilar to the colour of the former inhabitants of some of the barrels. And even before you take a first sip there's an intense complexity at play: a woody funk combines with rich red wine aromas and a touch of buttery oak; add in the wild yeast from the cherries and it makes it difficult to pull apart the three beer styles within. The complexity continues on the palate: a decent sourness meets red wine, oak, butter, cherries and dark berries to create a jammy, funky sour that's low in carbonation and equal parts wine and beer.
Matt King
Published April 6, 2020 2020-04-06 00:00:00
