Introduction

*This beer is not intended to be a sour or wild ale. Clown Shoes unintentionally infected a very small portion of this batch and discovered this after release. The bottles sampled by Canada Craft Club were not infected but a small portion of the batch was. If you uncover an infected bottle, do not be alarmed; it is completely safe for consumption, it merely showcases flavour profiles not necessarily intended by the brewer. Those we have spoken to who have tried the infected version reported it was actually very enjoyable and a happy mistake. So if you do encounter such a bottle, please do reach out to us and let us know. And here’s hoping you enjoy this bottle either way – slainte! “Despite testing the blended liquid in tank, with no positive results for any contaminants, a small amount of lactobacillus found its way into an unknown portion of the bottled product. Fortunately, lactobacillys is the most common bug used to intentionally sour beers. While not what we intended, many people are enjoying Archdruid for what it has become. We think it’s pretty Clown Shoes to have been asked for years to make a sour beer, then to do it accidentally, most likely because we pissed off mischievous magical creatures. Hey, at least they only changed the beer into something unique and unexpected, rather than completely destroying the concept.”

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How it looks

Pours a slightly hazy ruby red/copper colour with a fairly dense off-white head and decent retention.

How it smells

Aromas of caramel, brown sugar, toffee, raisin, plum and cherry combine with toasted biscuit and gentle notes of chocolate, nut, whiskey, vanilla, coconut and oak.

How it tastes

Lovely notes of caramel and brown sugar move into raisin, plum and cherry and slowly recede into toasted biscuit with gentle notes of chocolate, nuttiness, whiskey, vanilla and oak. Some light herbal bitterness and earthiness rounds out the finish with a touch of tart. Creamy, smooth and medium-bodied, this beer finishes dry.

Recommended food pairing

The roasted malt flavours of this beer complement smokey and gamey flavours well so consider venison Sheppard’s pie or bangers and mash.