Siren Odyssey #8 2017

Odyssey is our range of beers on a journey through barrels and blends. Each is a unique creation, usually inspired by a concept that we want to bring to life, or a natural fit for barrels with intense and specific character that we pick out as being particularly suited to a blend.

We’re now delighted to be ready to unleash Odyssey 008. The idea for this beer was to create a blend inspired by dark Belgian wood-aged sour beers, based on the character of a few unique and long-term aged beers in the barrel store. The barrel-aged beers were selected for their aroma and acidity. After blending the beer was returned to barrels for another 3 months (in red wine barrels from which part of the original blend was drawn, plus some bourbon barrels which previously housed Acid Jam).

A small addition of seasonal British fruit was added to some of the barrels. The fruit additions total ~75g/L in the overall blend, consisting of 40% cherries and 60% blackcurrants. The resulting beer has a gorgeous oak character with prominent red wine tannin influence, bramble & berries and a fruity acidity on the palate. Of course, there’s a complexity too, and our tasting notes pick up floral notes, almonds, umami and a delicate funkiness from the Brettanomyces.