Sangiovese Barrel Aged Alani by Reformation Brewery is being evaluated as Wild Specialty Beer (2015 BJCP Category 28C). The beer features Italian plums, tart cherries, Lactobacillus, and barrel aging in a Sangiovese barrel.
It pours hazy with a solid amber color with hues of pink. A small, ivory head forms but doesn’t linger. The nose of the beer is a complex mixture of plums, bananas, vanilla, oak, and grape. Malt and hops are largely absent.
The flavor is a pleasant surprise with further complexity as well as depth of what the nose indicated. All of the ingredients are present but are stronger with a rounded, well-matured aspect. The semi-dry finish allows for the barrel, grapes, and plums to linger with a touch of lactic acid providing the necessary zippiness that one would expect from a Wild Specialty.
Overall, this beer is a well-fermented, deftly-handled wild specialty. Most entries in this category are enamel-removing, acidic bombs that are tough to drink by the snifter. Not so with Sangiovese Barrel Aged Alani as everything is smooth and in balance with one another. Bartender, I’ll have another.