Got a canning line in for the day, may as well put four barrel-aged and wild ales into them, eh?
You can't knock Dollar Bill for efficiency when it comes the Storm Series – four 440ml cans with themed names and artwork almost too good to be used on such short run limited releases – or indeed for having all manner of funky projects underway at their Ballarat blendery to pick from. Taking them on in the order in which we shared them, Tranquility is a hazy golden, sour, barrel-aged and dry-hopped ale that has an enticingly off-kilter and complex aroma: there's whiffs of the barnyard, a stewed stone fruit sweetness, heaps of soft oak that bring to mind a fulsome chardonnay, and a leathery quality that reappears within the beer's dryness.
If enjoying all four in a session, you might want to line up Perception before Tranquility as this glowing golden barrel-aged Brett saison is lighter in body and less potent on the palate. Barnyard meets nettles on the nose, while the spritziness, sweetness and almost puckering lemon juice combo on the palate brings to mind a delicate yet funky mead.
Aftermath is a barrel-aged blackcurrant wild ale that looks very krieky and is of that ilk; it might be blackcurrants giving the liquid is bright crimson hue, but such is its lean, drying sour nature it could just as easily be cherries in the mix. Which leaves Crescendo, a honey mesquite wild ale with a distinct smokiness that brings to mind the iodine-laced aromas of an Islay whisky. While that's the top note and also weaves its way through the beer's midst, it comes accompanied by a relatively full, lively, sharp and sticky acidic sweetness akin to that underpinning Tranquility.
They might not make a lot of beer in terms of volume, but they sure make 'em interesting at Dollar Bill.
James Smith
Published October 21, 2021 2021-10-21 00:00:00
