Westbrook 100% Brett Lichtenhainer

Westbrook 100% Brett Lichtenhainer is a Berliner Weissbier, bottled 9/19/2012, aged for 7 months. This very well may be the strangest beer I’ve had to date, a light sour ale brewed with smoked malts and aged in red wine barrels. I get zero indication that this was aged in those barrels, from either the light lemon/gold color or the taste. But I will assume they know where they stored it. A nice Berliner base: mildly sour/tart with a nice bit of lemon citrus. Then things get weird with the smoked malt, it’s kind of like a chipoltle Tabasco was splashed in my sour ale. I thought for sure I would be pouring this down the drain after my first sip, but it improved a lot as it warmed. The smoke fades and the flavors do come together in a strange way. This is the kind of food that really NEEDS some food paired with it. I’m thinking spicy fish tacos would be nice.