• The Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Back Issues
    • Features
      • Brewing
      • People
      • Culture
      • History
      • Food
      • Travel
      • Styles
      • Homebrewing
    • Departments
      • Coming Soon
      • Columns
        • Visiting the Pub
        • Behind the Bar
        • It’s My Round
        • The Beer Enthusiast
        • The Beer Curmudgeon
        • In The Brewhouse
        • Michael Jackson
        • The Taster
        • Beyond Beer
        • Your Next Beer
        • Industry Insights
      • What’s Brewing
      • Pull Up A Stool
      • Travel
        • Beer Travelers
        • A Closer Look
        • Beer Weekend
      • Stylistically Speaking
      • Home Brewing
      • Beer Talk
      • Beer Books
  • Events
    • World Beer Festival Raleigh – July 7, 2018
    • World Beer Festival Durham – Oct. 6, 2018
    • World Beer Festival Columbia – Feb. 17, 2018
    • Event Calendar
    • Brewery Tastings & Events
    • Beer Explorer
  • Reviews
    • Staff Reviews
    • Beer Talk
    • Flights
    • Book Reviews
  • Learn
    • What is Beer?
      • Water
      • Malt
      • Hops
      • Yeast
    • Styles
      • Lagers
      • British and North American Ales
      • Belgian and Continental Ales
      • Wheat Ales
      • Stouts and Porters
      • Seasonal and Specialty
    • Glossary
  • News
    • New on the Shelves
  • Web Only
    • Blogs
      • Daniel Bradford
      • John Holl
      • Acitelli on History
      • The Beer Bible Blog
      • Bryson
    • Video
    • Photos
    • Podcasts
Menu
logo
  • Advertise with Us
  • Subscriber Services
  • Retailer Services
Give a Gift Subscribe

Cape May The Keel

October 26, 2016

Cape May Brewing Co.

The Keel
Cape May, New Jersey
Style: Red Wine Barrel-Aged Blended Sour Ale ABV: 6.6%

The first release in the Stow Away Series. Parts of The Keel are over 2 years old and spent 10 months in red wine barrels.

 


Tangy aroma suggestive of red wine vinegar and tart raspberries. Sour cherries on the nose, minerally carbonation. Very deep down there’s a sweet note of dried fruit. Soft tannins: like well-worn leather. Carbonation is moderately high, so that becomes a notable attribute in the mouth. Earthy note: dark, loamy soil. On the palate there’s just enough sweetness to provide balance. The tartness never goes away, but it does take short breaks where the sweeter fruit attributes come to the fore. Just a touch of bitterness on the finish to prevent all that fruitiness from becoming cloying. Tart and dry, complex. Great with a tikka masala flatbread.

Ray Daniels is the founder and director of the Cicerone Certification Program and the author, editor or publisher of more than two dozen books on beer and brewing. Follow him on Twitter @Cicerone_org.

Chocolate funk greets me as I eagerly take the first sip, which reveals a light wood character mixed with a puckering wine grape tannin assertiveness. There’s a caramel sweetness that serves as a steady bass line in the background, while letting the other flavors—a lactic bite, earthy pepper and dried red stone fruit—step forward. And maybe it’s just because of where the beer was made, but there’s a perceived saltiness, like that first breath of sea air in the morning down the shore. Pair with a good French triple crème cheese.

John Holl is the editor of All About Beer Magazine. 
Follow @allaboutbeer

Beer in your inbox

More Like This

  • Bourbon Barrel Lake Trout Stout
  • Harvest Ale
  • Flights: Whiner Beer Co. in Chicago

Most Popular

  • Oskar Blues Brewery Takes Limited Release Death by Coconut National
  • Miller Coors Buys Minority Stake In Terrapin Beer Co.

The Magazine

  • Advertise with Us
  • Subscribe
  • Give a Gift
  • Staff
  • Subscriber Services
  • Retailer Services

Learn Beer

  • Reviews
  • Back Issues
  • Articles
  • Writer Guidelines
  • Internship Program

Events

  • World Beer Festival
  • Craft Beer Events
  • News

All About Beer

  • P.O. Box 110346
  • Durham, NC 27709
  • CONTACT