Colonial Brewing Barrel Projects: Rubus

Colonial Brewing didn’t just spend much of 2021 expanding their stainless but have also been dedicating considerable time to their Barrel Projects series, which kicked off in March 2021 with Brown; before the year finishes, that's been joined by Rubus. Starting life as a golden ale, Rubus then met with a mix of bacteria and wild yeast and spent some 30 months ageing in chardonnay barrels before being finished for a further four months on 300 grams per litre of raspberries and blackberries. It means the resulting beer is no longer golden at all, instead pouring a vibrant red, while the chosen name pays tribute to those colourful berries via the scientific name for brambles.

It’s picked up plenty of those tart raspberry and blackberry flavours too, with a jammy or stewed berry quality alongside more fresh fruit flavours. Those are joined by a vinous barrel character, a farmhouse funk that continues to build over time but competes in that growing cavalcade with the beer's acidity and a gripping, tart stonefruit finish.

Will Ziebell

Published December 1, 2021 2021-12-01 00:00:00