Today I’m excited to lead off with their Wooden Soul Heliotropic. This beer is a brett saison that is aged in oak barrels. I should mention up front, the 375ml cork-and-caged bottles look great and overall the packaging is really unique for Indeed. The beer pours a bright straw color with a slight haze and higher carbonation. The aromas lead with tropical fruit, wine and citrus and follow with darker fruits at the end. The first sip also starts with tropical fruit and a really pleasant tartness. This is followed by some brettanomyces funk, some deep raisin and a prominent vinous finish. Overall the balance is really nice and the complexity increases nicely as the beer warms a bit.
Up next we re-sampled Indeed Lucy Session Sour. Our original sampling is here, and here’s a tasting highlight from that review,
The flavors lead with passion fruit, orange & lemon followed by a really pleasant tartness to bring it all together. I found a surprising hoppy presence with a really drinkable and clean lemon-y finish.”
What I think is most interesting about today’s sampling is comparing the wood fermentation of Heliotropic to the stainless steel fermentation of Lucy Session Sour. The obvious difference is the wood vs stainless fermentation vessel, the not so obvious is that Lucy is soured then fermented, while Heliotropic is fermented then soured. This really seemed to amp up the depth, complexity and funk of Heliotropic and the sour/acidic character of Lucy. The citrus and acidic presence of Lucy dominates the flavors, while a bit more sour and vinous notes come out in Heliotropic. The souring length of 24-hours with Lucy and the much longer souring with Heliotropic really contribute to not only the dominant flavors, but in my opinion, also the complexity and depth, especially as the beer warms.
Overall these are both really good beers with some common and some different characteristics. While they both may fall into a sour style, I think you’ll find both beers enjoyable and unique. Be sure to try Indeed Wooden Soul Heliotropic for yourself, and if you can, try it side-by-side with Lucy Session Sour like we did. And when you do try them, be sure to let us know what YOU think.
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