Monday night, I had the amazing privilege to attend the Boba Brett with Blackberries OG Tasting Experience at NoDa Brewing Company in Charlotte, NC. During the event, various media members and influencers were given a tour of NoDa Brewing’s original facility and new home to their sour program. In addition we spent some time talking about the vision behind the sour program as well as the time and care that goes into creating these unique beers. Lastly, we were able to sample Boba Brett in a variety of ways—from the tap, from the foeder, and then with something a little extra—blackberries. Needless to say, I was incredibly impressed—both by the NoDa Sour Program and by the amazing beer.
An American Wild Ale, Boba Brett is carefully crafted and monitored over two years to achieve a pleasantly balanced sour flavor profile, with notes of fruitiness. The acidity is not overpowering, making this an excellent beer for sour lovers as well as those who may have never tried a sour beer before. Those additional fruity notes, in particular pineapple and other tropical fruits also lend this to being an incredibly approachable beer. It also sets up the beer to pair well with other fruits and foods.
From the tap, as a finished product, this beer was incredible. Again, acidic without peeling the enamel off of your teeth strong. It had that right amount of sourness that beckoned you to take additional sips. Add to that the complex fruity notes within the beer, and Boba Brett makes for an amazing sour beer. Just wow!
From the foeder…well, you may be wondering what a foeder is. I’m glad you asked—According to Foeder Crafters of America, a Foeder is a vessel which ‘allows a slow ingress of oxygen into the beer that is easily supervised with the tasting valve. The high beer to wood ratio allows the beer to mature and develop whereas smaller barrels may progress sooner which may lead to acidification before the beer is fully developed’.
So basically a foeder is a large vessel used to age and develop beer on a large, reproducible and quality-conrtrolled manner. Boba Brett from the foeder was excellent as well. I noticed how it was slightly more sweet. The Brettanomyces and other microbes had not fully run its coarse, thus the beer was not as acidic. I feel that some of that sour characteristic was less due to the fact that the beer was still developing. Still an amazing beer and incredibly fresh!
As if I could not be impressed anymore, we sampled the main attraction of the evening—Boba Brett with blackberries. OH WOW! This beer was phenomenal! Coming in at 7% and light ruby in color, the beer had a subtle malt backbone, similar to the standard Boba Brett, with the amazing addition of blackberries. Blackberries, sour lemon, and sour candy greeted the enjoyer on the nose with a tartness just tickles the senses. The addition of the blackberries rounded out this beer so well, while also pairing perfectly with the other fruity notes within Boba Brett. The blackberries softened the beer too, making the feeling less acidic, while also providing a pleasant and unique tartness. I thought this was amazing as it made the beer even more approachable.
While sipping on this amazing brew, I couldn’t stop thinking about blackberry jam—the notes were there, albeit soft and subtle. The beer is a perfect any time drink, but would also pair well with a salad or, of course, blackberry cobbler. I could not get over the fact that it was 7% as well as it was incredibly easy-drinking and much lighter than I would have thought.
All in all, the Boba Brett Project at NoDa Brewing is doing amazing things. Their standard flagship wild ale, Boba Brett is incredible, and Boba Brett with Blackberries raised the bar even more. I can’t wait to see what else is to come from NoDa and their Sour Program.
If you’d like to get your hands on Boba Brett with Blackberries, NoDa is releasing a limited number of bottles at their original location 2229 North Davidson Street in Charlotte, NC on March 31st at 12:00 PM. You’ll want to get there early as they will go quickly. Cheers to this amazing beer and NoDa Brewing Company’s Sour Program!
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