The Rare Barrel Shadows of Their Eyes
No ratings yet — be the first to log it.
Tasting Notes
Shadows of Their Eyes is a dark sour ale from The Rare Barrel's blended program, and it pours with aromas that lean toward dark fruit — black cherry, plum, a hint of dried fig — layered over the funky, barnyard-tinged complexity you expect from a mixed-fermentation base. On the palate, tart acidity drives the experience, balanced by notes of cocoa and a mild earthiness from the wild yeast character. The body is medium-light, which keeps the sourness from feeling heavy. The finish dries out with a lingering tartness and subtle vinous quality that rewards slow drinking.
About the Brewery
The Rare Barrel is based in Berkeley, California, and focuses exclusively on sour ales aged in oak barrels — an unusually narrow and committed focus for any American craft brewery. Founded around 2013, they built their program around blending rather than single-batch releases, drawing comparisons to traditional Belgian gueuze producers in their philosophy if not their specific techniques. Their beers are widely regarded as some of the more consistent and thoughtfully constructed sour ales produced on the West Coast.
Food Pairings
The dark fruit and tart acidity here make it a natural partner for duck breast or duck confit, where the beer's brightness cuts through rich, fatty meat. A cheese course built around aged gouda or a firm washed-rind works well because both the beer and those cheeses share funky, savory undertones. Braised lamb with dried cherries mirrors the beer's fruit character without competing with it. Dark chocolate with moderate bitterness — around 70% cacao — echoes the cocoa notes in the beer while the acidity keeps the pairing from turning cloying.
Style Guide
American Wild Ale is a broad, loosely defined category covering beers fermented with wild or mixed cultures — Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, or some combination — typically outside the strict regional traditions of Belgian lambic or Flanders red ale. The style can range from pale and highly acidic to dark and relatively restrained in sourness, with ABVs generally falling between 4% and 8%. What distinguishes it from Belgian counterparts is the freedom American brewers take with ingredients, barrel types, and blending ratios, resulting in wide variation from one producer to the next. The common thread is the presence of funk, acidity, or both, derived from organisms beyond standard brewer's yeast.