RU55 by Jester King

10418469_10101879189331480_5956805655657070918_nRating: 5/5

RU55 by Jester King is a 7.3% ABV Flanders Red Ale aged in oak barrels.

Label:
For generations, the farms of West Flanders have been tended to by large, anthropomorphic automations. In recent years, many of these farms have been taken over by large, multinational corporations, and their automations replaced by shiny new electronic robots. Scattered about the countryside, however, there are still a few intrepid farmers who insist on doing things the old-fashioned way.
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Gotta give a great thanks to my friend Aaron at http://www.beermetaldude.com for hooking me up with this hard to find/brewery/Texas only exclusive beer. Jester King has been on the rise as one of Texas best breweries when it comes to sour ales and saisons. They make some very amazing beers. I have only been lucky to try a handful until recently since my friend has been hooking me up. A great donation to the site and vise versa. Thank you once again brother !

Aromas:
Sour wine grapes, dark fruits, oak, musty funky barnyard hay, caramel, cherries, biscuit bready, rye, brown sugar, hints of chocolate, toffee, sour apples and berries

Flavors:
Lots of oak, sour wine grapes, dark fruit raisins, biscuit bread, chocolate hints, dark cherry yogurt, caramel, toffee, musty and funky yeast notes, tart sour apples, oak, brown sugar notes, rye, berries, tart currants and plums.

Aftertaste:
Puckering tart dark fruits, caramel, biscuit, berries, wine grapes, sour funk and oak. No alcohol in the taste and a sipping beer with full mouth feel.

Overall:
There is something I love about amber ales since the first one I tried which was the Fat Tire Ale. This beer reminds me of the malty, biscuity and caramel ambers that I love with some very nice sour flavors. It is well balanced. I especially like how these characteristics really show as the beer warms up. It is a perfectly well made Flanders Red Ale and I highly recommend it.

Anime Corner:
Maria from Ghost Sweeper Mikami was used in this pairing to pair with the robot used in this beer as well as the variety of flavors in this beer. Berries and Cherry oak with souring grapes and malty caramel and the vest of dark fruit carry this one while Maria still packs a crazy sour punch but her sweetness is undeniable under that metallic structure of hers. She is a bad ass android and was the best choice for this paring!

Source:
http://e-shuushuu.net/images/2009-04-11-155961.jpeg

Sans Pagaie (2013 version) by The Bruery

1173614_10101623065490710_1627293482_nRating: 4.45/5

Sans Pagaie (2013 version) by The Bruery is a 5.4% ABV Sour Blond Ale aged in Oak with Cherries. 

Label:
UP A KRIEK
We added loads of cherries to this sour blonde ale, giving it a color as bright as its flavors. 
Sans Pagaie is best enjoyed fresh, until then, please store in a cool dark place.

COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTION (ratebeer.com)
French for “without a paddle”, Sans Pagaie is our take on a Belgian Kriek. We added an incredible amount of cherries (whole and pureed) to this sour blonde ale and then we decided to add more. The result is a well balanced fruited sour ale, perfect on it’s own, even better with a slice of chocolate cake. 5.8% ABV, Cellerable for up to 3 years. 
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Up the Kriek without a paddle is what this beer is about. The river of cherries is long flow of sweet and sourness. This beer was released last year and one could buy it from the Bruery. It is an yearly seasonal release. I tried this one last time and I thought it was pretty good as the cherries were more forward than the sour oak. Now this is the bottle one, let’s see how it fairs.

Aromas:
Strawberry,Cherry and vanilla Mexican Flour Atole, caramel biscuit bread, then the funky sour wine grapes and lactic acid notes kick in, sour apples, pears, oak, cherry cobbler, Hibiscus, roses and brown sugar.

Flavors:
Dark Cherry yogurt but then the funky sourness takes over. Cherry pie, Mexican coconut alfafor sugar block, vanilla, lemons, apples, sour grapes, oak, hibiscus wine notes, barnyard hay, spices and coriander.

Aftertaste:
Cherry and coconut flavor seems to linger along with the sour wine grapes and barnyard hay. It is a sipping beer as it is a sour but there is no alcohol in the taste.

Overall:
A very good beer if you enjoy digging through sours. I was surprised by this one because it smelled sweet and it was sweet until the sourness kicked in. Lucky, there is enough sweet to balance it out from being just pure sour. Like I said, if you don’t like sours, you won’t like this one.

Anime Corner:
Milla Maxwell from Tales of Xillia 2 was chosen in this pairing to showcase her colors in this artwork to pair with the colors of the label but also the flavors of the beer. Which are the sweet and tart cherries, coconut alfafor, and all the flavors which then proceed into purple or the funky wine grape and oak flavors of the beer. She is normally a blonde girl as well so with the addition of cherries which makes her hair red, pink, purple and some yellow definitely compliments Sans Pagaie.