Letra Late Harvest Wild Grape

As is typically my practice when spending an afternoon at a brewery or craft beer bar, for my third glass, I asked the opinion of the person behind the bar. The dude at the Letraria Craft Beer Garden wasted no time in recommending the Late Harvest Wild Grape from the Letra on Oak series of barrel aged beers. A 7% ale, the beer is French oak-aged with 20% late-harvested Fernão Pires grapes. The 370mL bottle arrived corked and caged. Once freed, the hazy golden ale exuded a singular sweet and funky white wine aroma. Though it poured with a modest white head, this faded almost immediately, leaving only some loose, sudsy tectonics.

The beer had a tart, yeasty flavour. Not sour, exactly, but certainly funky in the way of a wild saison or a particularly tangy Belgian ale. The winy nose persisted into the flavour, though it was joined by notes of sour cherry and wacky yeast.

I always love to ask staff what I should be sampling. In this instance, I ended up with a quirky, barrel-aged, grape infused beer I’d never have ordered myself. And the result was really quite excellent—unique flavour, lots of booze, and a nice opportunity to talk beer with a dude who knew his stuff. I also seldom get to see an “enjoy by” date that extends to 2030.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10.

Vines of Passion

After a fun trip to Lisbon’s Oceanarium, the Bitter Wife and I hopped on a bus and rolled over to Dois Corvos Cervejeira, a cool and comfortably appointed space in a mixed use part of town—a bit off the beaten path, but one with Lou Reed on the stereo.

 

For my first brew, I went with a 125mL pour of Vines of Passion. It was a 7.4% barrel-aged ale made using muscat grape must. At just 14 IBUs, bitterness was low, and Nelson Sauvin hops combined with the grape must gave the beer a distinctly white wine profile. The aroma is fiercely winey, with acidic and sweet notes mingling freely. For flavour, the beer is tangy and fruity, with only a hint of bitterness.

The high alcohol content was nearly imperceptible and the beer was extremely easy-sipping, creating a devilishly dangerous combo. One gets the sense that three or four glasses of this stuff could vanish in a blink, leaving an unwitting drinker a bit wobblier than they might expect. Tasty and cleverly made, this ale—aged two years—is a yummy treat for wine lovers slumming it in the beer world.

Rating: 8.0 out of 10.