Is Ranger Creek Small Batch Series No. 6 my first ever beer brewed in San Antonio? No, it’s not, that honor goes to a blonde ale from Branchline Brewing Company, though not long before I enjoyed this Ranger Creek beer. Still, that’s not much beer from this city, and neither of them are distributed in this area. I got both bottles in beer trades with friends in Texas.
I don’t know a lot about Ranger Creek, but I do know that I really enjoyed their Small Batch Series No. 6, a Flanders red Ale in style. The bottle is a bit odd in shape and holds 12.7 ounces with a wax sealed cap. The Small Batch Series seems to be a line of one-off specialties. My bottle of No.6 was packaged on 7-1-2013 and is bottle conditioned. I sampled with about 10 months age on it. Alcohol by volume is 8%.
Ranger Creek says of this beer on their website:
We’ve been waiting patiently to release Small Batch Series No. 6 for quite some time. This Flanders Red Ale is a blend of 18 and 24 month barrels, resulting in a balanced, mature sour beer. It was re-fermented with strains of Brettanomyces, Lactobacillus and Pediococcus, giving it a well developed and complex aroma of tart cherries with underling rich earthy tones. These notes are complemented by the addition of local Texas figs and tart red cherries. This sherry-like sour is deep red in color with hints of dark stone fruits and red apple and a slight tartness.
Ranger Creek Small Batch No. 6 won a Bronze Medal at the World Beer Championships, for whatever that’s worth.
Ranger Creek Small Batch No. 6 pours to a muddy reddish brown color with a very minimal, short lived head formation and a delightfully tart sour cherry nose. Taking a sip, this one has some lightly stewed and nutty malt flavors up front followed by the sour: almonds, tart black cherry, currants, and a mouth puckering, really fantastic dry sourness at the last. Just excellent, not just for the sourness, but also for the cherry, raisin and almond flavors that go with it. This one is on the mark for the style and very enjoyable to boot.
Definitely a beer I would buy again if it were sold in my area.
And remember, try a new beer today, and drink outside the box.
*Pricing data accurate at time of review or latest update. For reference only, based on actual price paid by reviewer.
(B)=Bottled
(D)=Draft