Lake Effect Brett Cerise

Brett Cerise is one of what I would consider to be Lake Effect Brewery's rather ambitious Brett Series. Essentially, Lake Effect has brewed a base session pale ale using brettanomyces yeast, which imparts a funky tart flavor. This series includes, or will include variations that utilize the following fruits: raspberry, cherry, and grapefruit. I randomly picked out a 750 ML of the cherry brett a few days ago, curious to see how this project is turning out.

Brett Cerise (5.5% ABV) pours with little head and leaves very little lacing. It is ruby red to orange and hazy in appearance. There is very little aroma, but I was able to detect mostly a tart, funky mustiness, with just the faintest hint of the cherries. The cherry became more evident as the beer warmed. The mouthfeel is crisp with little carbonation. Flavor-wise, it's very acidic and more citric than cherry. Neither the cherry nor the brett yeast really stand out. It's is very crisp, however, almost like a cider rather than beer. I wonder if Lake Effect perhaps jumped the gun on this one, rather than letting it settle and age together with the fruit for a bit longer? I'm pretty sure I'll try some of the others in this series. I feel like this beer has promise, but isn't quite where it needs to be. Kudos to Lake Effect for attempting to create something interesting and probably soon to be more in demand as funky and sour becomes more popular among the beer-drinking public. These beers will certainly appeal to some, and will also expand the palates of many curious new drinkers who are trending towards this style of beer.

Major update! We had the Brett Framboise on draft last week, and it is spectacular! Everyone who tried it was universally impressed. This is a major success for Lake Effect, in my opinion, as having locally made sours and lambics is going to become important if the current trends among craft beer consumers continue.