There and Back Again

There and Back Again by Equilibrium Brewery is an American Wild Specialty Beer, and is being evaluated as such (BJCP 2015 Category 28C). It falls under the specialty subcategory of the American Wild Ale category due to the use of fruit (Apricot & Peach).

It pours a deep hazy golden orange that looks like peach juice, with a low white head that fades quickly. The aroma is fruity, funky, sour and a little dirty. There is lots of stone fruit (apricot & peach), but also a fair level of contamination that comes across as baby vomit (butyric acid), sweaty socks (isovaleric acid) and enteric bacteria. Despite that, it still has a lemony lactic and fruity brightness, with a faint wheaty/crackery malt character and no hops. Fortunately the flavor is much better than the nose and most of the contamination characters are hardly there if even noticeable, just a little baby vomit remains. Its like a tart fuzzy navel, with loads of stone fruit and a big sour kick and some honey-like sweetness. It has a light, dry body with a tingling tartness on the palate and a semi-sweet finish from the fruit. At first whiff this beer was a bit rough, great potential but with some flaws. Surprisingly almost none of that followed thru into the flavor and makes you wonder if it was ever really there. If not for that bit of dirty bacteria this would be a great beer, but it really detracted from the overall pleasure.