Brew Love: Wicked Weed Oblivion
It's been a while since we've done a Brew Love, and this bottle has been sitting in our fridge for awhile just waiting for this opportunity. Now before you jump up and try to find this at any Colorado liquor store, we regret to inform you that this isn't available in our state. We got ours from Bruisin' Ales in Asheville, who will ship straight to your doorstep if you want it that bad. Believe us, you might.
Wicked Weed's Oblivion is a sour red ale aged in wine barrels with blackberries and dates. It appears they are on the same page as our local Paradox guys up the pass. Take amazing sour beer, age it in oak barrels, add super tasty fruit and voilà, you have an amazing barrel-aged sour. The Wicked Weed folks age this beer for 8-10 months in red wine barrels with the fruit and then meticulously blend it to create the brilliance that pours out of the bottle. First off, the aroma only prepares you for the eventual onslaught of your senses. Tart fruit, some musty yeast notes and a tinge of sweetness from the dark fruit waft out of the glass. This beer is fairly effervescent to start, but the head settles down after a few minutes to a nice off-white layer sitting upon the dark burgundy expanse.
The taste of this beer is what makes it so amazing. While it is a sour, Wicked Weed has been able to add so many more levels of complexity and depth, the tartness almost becomes an afterthought among the fruit and red wine flavors. You can pick out the dates and blackberries just before they are enveloped by a funk that brings this beer together. At 8.7% ABV, you'd think the alcohol would be present, but the flavors in this beer mask the strength very well.If you find yourself in Asheville, NC for any reason, please stop by Wicked Weed for us. If you're like us and are still trying to find an excuse to ditch work and escape to Beer City USA, you can live vicariously through us. It could be Brew Love.
