Oersoep: Madame Funky 2018 (Netherlands: Sour Ale: 7% ABV)
Visual: Hazy peach skin color. Thin white rim of a head. Some small bubbled carbonation in the body.
Nose: Tart. Cider. Soft peach. Wet oak. Peach Melba yogurt. Lemon squirt.
Body: Soft peach. Tart apples. Cider and perry notes. Acidic to slight vinegar. Charred touch. Some yeast funk. Vanilla.
Finish: Acidic apples. Vanilla. Slight sulfur. Slight charred oak. Sour grapes. Yeast funk. Puff crisps. Peach syrup.
Conclusion: This is a tasty mix of a fresher, tart lambic style sour with gentle peach sweetness, with neither getting lost in the mix. That ain’t an easy balance to pull off.
Initially it is pretty cider and tart apple led, tart, with even a slight vinegar like touch at times. ( though don’t worry it is generally smoother than that, this isn’t a Rodenbach Grand Cru harsh tart and sour notes bomb) The peach notes are there at this point but subtle. Time lets the peach build up, getting a just slightly more syrupy touch against the dry main body, along with a hint of vanilla sweetness that soothes everything nicely.
So a sour, very gueuze like thing, using an odd fruit in a way that balances the tartness, yet also accentuates the contrast which means all the positive elements stand out so much better while hiding the usual negative qualities that can come from a sour.
As time goes on even more a slight yeast funk is added to the previously dry and clean sour. Oddly for a beer called “Madame Funky” that element is fairly restrained and only really prevalent in the end third of the beer. That element brings out a slight puff crisp (sans cheese dust coating) kind of fluffy feel, adding a bit more thickness to the mouthfeel and more grip for the flavor.
This is really good, smooth and dry for the main part, with hints of harsher and more solid notes. Well used but not dominating fruit that brings the sweeter notes when needed.
Highly recommended.
Background: Ok, another new brewery on me – Oersoep are one I had not heard of before, but this intriguing little sour ale caught my eye. Made with white peach – which is another thing I had not heard of before. White peaches. So many new things I am learning today. Anyway, a new brewery, a new sour made with a new fruit. Lots of new experiences to try so of course I grabbed it from Independent Spirit. Went with B.Dolan, Kill the Wolf for music while drinking. Feeling a lot of the more politically active tunes recently for some reason. I wonder why…
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