Almanac Valley of the Heart's Delight (Batch 1 & 2)

Almanac Valley of the Heart's Delight (Batch 1 & 2)

This sour ale is inspired by the agricultural history of the Santa Clara Valley. Long before it became Silicon Valley, it was known as the Valley of The Heart’s Delight, a fertile basin overflowing with fruit orchards. Brewed with foraged apricots, loquats and cherries handpicked by the Garden To Table non-profit, this collaborative beer celebrates and supports their mission to promote urban farming in San Jose.


Batch 1: Apricots, Loquats, Cherries

Batch 2: Apricots



Editor: In general the fruits change with every batch and thus they are separate beers by RateBeer rules. At this point it is likely too difficult to split apart B1 and B2, but please place your rating as appropriate and note the batch number on the bottle in your review.
3.9
206 reviews
Alameda, United States

Community reviews

3.4 2015 edition slight cloudy orange yellow pour. Aroma doughy, lemon, apricot. Explosive sour, butter, some vinegar, apricots. a bit simple and a bit too sour.
4.1 375ml bottle. Thanks Mike! Cloudy straw hue. Acetic/tart green apricot nose and flavor with hay hints. Medium+ body and full carbonation.
3.8 06.02.2015, 0,375l bottle @ home: Nice creamy mediumlasting head. Aroma is kind of strange and mild sour-ish, old potato cellar, yeast, cherry stones, sour grass, almonds, something strange citrusy. Taste is sour-ish dry, soda powder, citrus peel, lemon, sorrel, raw rhubarb, cherry stones, yeast, minerals. Medium bitterness, dry citrusy mouthfeel. Aroma is just weird, but taste is very nice.
4.3 Beautifully clear. Booming sourness in the aroma, peachy fruit but damn that is zingy! It pushes you to the limit but it’s sooooo tasty. Zing city. Lemons, plums, peaches. It’s almost like biting into a green plum. I would say that was pretty Accurate. Probably be too much to have more than one, which is why it doesn’t score higher, but it does well.
3.3 Bottle pours clear blonde, normal to big white head, fades rather fast to a good layer of foam. Smell is citrussy sour. Bit of oak as well, and to the dry side. Taste is dry, very astigent-type of lemon-sour. Very citrussy. I don’t get cherries though, not in any aspect of the beer ( accept for the description on the label ) Its just to dry and lemon-ish for me, reminds me of a timmermans Oude Geuze which is - to me - not that good to begin with... I expected more from Almanac...
3.8 Cloudy orange pour, fair sized pillowy head. Tart aroma, apricot, sour, funk, oak, white wine. Vinous character, with Apricot dominating the other fruit in the taste. White wine, Oak, Tart and sour. Lighter body.
3.9 Bottle shared by ericteusink. Tart, apricots, strawberries, cherries, fruit juiciness, crisp. Damn good.
4.0 375 ml bottle purchased at Distillers Outlet in Poway a little over a year ago ($11.99). Actually my first rating for this brewery, but have had their delightful beers a number of times locally on tap and at bottle shares. I believe that this is the first batch which states on the label that it includes foraged apricots (as the second batch does) but also loquats and cherries...apparently the latter two fruits are not found in the second batch?? Pours a hazy peach color with some floating sediment and one finger of fluffy white foam. AROMA of yeasty old white wine, musty funky barrel, underripe white peach, and lemons. FLAVOR of tart lemon and limeade, dry oak, various fruit notes (some kinda vague notes of the apricot and even the loquat but not the cherry), some light vinegar, and lactic sourness. Quite tart on the initial sip but finishes with some smooth (non-puckering) sourness. Lovely sour, but I kind of wish I had drunk it fresh to perhaps get more of the foraged stone fruits that went into this. (180, 970)
4.2 Had at a tap takeover at Uncle Henry’s Deli in Downey. They had both the I and II varieties. Variety I was brewed with apricots, loquats, and cherries. Pours a hazy yellow. Lots of lemons, Wonderfully tart. Really nice beer. Version II was aged in wine casks with their house "dogwatch" sour culture. It was good also, slightly more orange than lemon. But similar to the other one. Both were great.
4.0 Backlog. Draft at Tap and Handle. Hazy orange appearance. Aroma of apricots, stone fruits, sour notes and funky yeast. Similar flavor, fruity, acidic and moderately sour with a refreshingly tart finish. Mild puckering mouth feel. Nicely done.
3.8 Bottle. Semi hazy orange golden beer with a small white head. Aroma is spicy with notes of citrus, peaches, bread, grass and apricots. Flavor is fruity with notes of citrus, peaches, oranges, herbs and apricots.
4.1 Wow this is great. Golden straw colored with fluffy head. Aroma is mild sulfur, huge apricots, peaches, and funk. Taste is mildly tart with juicy sweet apricots balancing nicely.
4.0 Pours hazy golden straw colour with a white semi lasting head. Nose has abricots, slight lactic sourness and a faint hint of cherries. Taste is refreshingly tangy and sour with a more lictic profile than you find in most euro-sours.. I’m liking this a lot. There’s a lighness to the mouthfeel and a citrussy lipsmacking tart finish. Lovely.
3.8 375 ml bottle poured a clear gold with a lingering ring of white foam. Aromas of straw, apricot, white wine, oak and light citrus. Palate was light bodied and crisp with adry tart finish. Flavors of straw, white wine, light apricot and light oak with a crisp dry tart lingering white wine finish.
4.0 Pours a lighter hazy golden color with white fizzy head. Light fruits, apricots, cherry tartness, funk, and oak on the nose; follows onto the palate. Finishes tart and dry with just a hint of fruity sweetness snuck in.
4.1 Batch 1 - Peach and lighter fruits, very nicely balanced, low carb 3.9 Batch 2 - overwhelming stone fruits, softer sourness. Nicer overall. 4.2
3.8 Bottle - Nice funky tart apricot. Cloudy gold with a decent white head. Acidic, some funky notes. Tart and the apricot definitely appears in the end. Nice.
3.9 March 19, 2015. Bottle at Babajan. Light hazy golden with a medium sized white head. Aroma is acidic lemon, peaches and funky yeasty notes. Taste is very fruity sour with lemon, peaches and some grape notes. Puckering, dry, sour finish. Light to medium bodied, average carbonation.
4.3 Bottle from Beer Junction in Seattle. Colour...light golden-straw with a thin head. Nose...ultra funky and fruity with yeasty notes and loads of lemon zest. Palate...whoa Nelly!! Did I just suck a green persimmon?! Ultra pucker up buttercup! After the pursed lips pucker factor, the lemony business comes on strong and continues through the whole palate. A damn fine and refreshing ale!
3.5 Sample at EBF. Hazy gold pour, thin ring of white foam. Aroma is super peachy, really nice fruity aroma, lemony notes, peachy, apricot. Taste is quite harsh, reallllly sour, lots of sourness, light gastric, nice sourness but very potent. Palate is super dry, med carbonation. Good.
3.7 How: Bottle. Where: Babajan, Stockholm. Appearance: Hazy yellow colour with a small white head. Aroma: Sour, fruit, some spices. Body: Medium body and carbonation. Flavour: Fruit, sour, candy, citrus, oranges.
3.7 a really nice sour from a brewery i have not had. not iverly sour and has a slightly sweet backbone. pours light yellow in color with almost no head. had at kasers.
3.9 375ml bottle. Vinous sour aroma with sweet notes of apricot. Pours hazy golden colored with a thin white head and excellent lacing. Starts with sweet apricot and semi sweet white wine flavors with a lively, carbonated mouthfeel. Finishes very sour with strong citrus flavors than linger on the palate after the sip. Good beer, but be prepared for a helluva lot of sour on the finish.
3.0 Bottled at Babajan, Stockholm. Hazy golden, small head. Cocos and citric acid up front. Puckering sour, cocos, lemon. Super sour, lemon, bubblegum pears, vinegar. Low bitterness. Not very complex.
4.2 Pours a golden orange with a paper thin head. Aroma of funk, stone fruit and white wine. Taste is tart, apricots, sour wheat, oak and funk. Wow, this is like a more acidic and less funky fou foune. Really solid.
3.8 [2/13/15] Draught sample at Almanac & Friends Sourfest at Public House in San Francisco. Hazy golden. Aroma of oak, white wine, fruitiness and a funky note. Sour flavor with apricots, oak, wine and cookies. Medium-bodied.
4.0 Bottle share with MF666. Light hazy yellow with a medium sized white head. I love this. Really fresh with pleasant sourness. Fruity sourness; sour apples, apricot, lime. Some light barnyard, hay, dough, wood behind all the sour fruit. Medium body, soft carbonation, medium sweet and medium/heavy sour. Fresh, fruity and sour.
3.3 Uklar? Tæt hvid skum, syrlig duft, syrlig smag der "stopper hurtigt" godt med bobler go øl Free Føroyar!!!
3.6 Bottle purchased at The Davis Beer Shoppe. The aroma has some melon character...canteloupe, primarily. Light lemon rind citrus notes and a little musty funk, too. Transparent golden blonde body with a small, weak whitish head. Starts with a dry, acidic, tart flavoring. Has some melon flavors in the middle. Finishes with more of a puckering astringent tartness. Lemon citrus flavors, too. This is pretty intense, but the flavors just seem to work with this.
4.2 375ml bottle pours an orange color without much head. Nice balance of sour with the mild apricot. The apricot comes through nicely.