Stonewall
Brewery: Vista Brewing
Style: Fruit Lambic (23F)
Package: 500ml Bottle
Purchased: Specs Airport, March, 2020
Packed Date: NA
Consumed Date: April 9, 2020
Details From the Brewer
ABV: 6.3%
Last July, our team came together and pitted over 600 lbs of fresh, juicy peaches from Jenschke Farms in Fredericksburg. We added these peaches to a base of Texas grown and malted barley from Blacklands Malt Vista’s limestone-filtered well water and seven mixed cultures, in a freshly-emptied red wine barrel from Bending Branch Winery
The result is a tart Lambic-style ale with light peach flavor, an effervescent mouthfeel, earthy Brett notes and a dry finish.
Review
Aroma – 10/12
An acidic bite tickles the nose at a medium intensity. It has equal parts acetic and yogurty lactic acid. A low to medium peach stonefruit is also present. There’s some musty funk and a touch of oak as well.
Appearance – 2/3
Pours a orange-gold liquid with a strong haze. A short stark white head made up of fine bubbles collapses quickly. Carbonation continually refreshes a ring of bubbles around the top.
Flavor – 14/20
Like the nose, acid jumps onto the tongue immediately with a medium-high intensity. A juicy yet delicate peach character fills in next. It has notes of both the flesh and skin. Very dry with no perceived sweetness. The back end of the taste bring with it a lot of musty and dirt/soil brettanomyces funk. As the finish approaches the acidity seems to increase as the other flavors diminish. A low oak wood flavor comes out. After the finish, some acidity lingers along with the earthy character.
Mouthfeel – 4/5
Medium-high carbonation carries an acidic bite around the mouth. The body is light-medium throughout the taste. Some tannin derived astringency on the finish.
Overall Impression – 7/10
A nice Texas version of fruited Belgian Lambic. The peach character, while subtle, is authentic and has held up well. While I’m not usually the biggest fan of musty funk, it works well here. I do get some of the oak from the barrels, but the wine character is a bit lost on me. It might be coming off as the dirt/earthiness. The acidity here is a bit high. While it’s fine in the aroma, it overpowers a lot of the delicate flavors of the beer. If that were to be blended down, this would be right up there with some for the best stone fruit lambics. At room temp with the carbonation knocked out, it was a lot more drinkable.
Rating – 37/50
Vista started their barrel program right out of the gate and has been putting out quality beers. I haven’t been able to get my hands on many, but it’s nice to see them trying complex and hard to nail styles. I’ll admit, I’m usually drawn to their Dark Skies Schwartzbier when I’m there.
