Darken Dark Wild Ale

Bottle. Very unique and tasty sour. Dark Carmel color - excellent fruit notes and very tart. Good stuff

500 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled in 7/2017. Pours crystal clear dark reddish brown color with a 2 finger dense and rocky khaki head with fantastic retention, that reduces to a nice cap that lasts. Thick soapy lacing clings on the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Fantastic appearance. Aromas of tart lemon, lime, red/green apple, raisin, plum, fig, cherry, berry, red grape, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and biscuit; with light notes of nuttiness, oaken vanilla, chocolate, peppercorn, coriander, ginger, anise, leathery/musty funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Nice and pleasant aromas with good balance and complexity of fruity/funky/light acidic yeast, dark/beady malt, oak, and light spice notes; with solid strength. Taste of tart lemon, lime, red/green apple, raisin, plum, fig, cherry, berry, red grape, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, and biscuit; with light notes of nuttiness, oaken vanilla, chocolate, peppercorn, coriander, ginger, anise, leathery/musty funk, red wine vinegar, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Mild lactic tartness and yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of tart lemon, lime, red/green apple, raisin, plum, fig, cherry, berry, red grape, hay, straw, grass, toasted oak, caramel, brown sugar, brown bread, biscuit, nuttiness, vanilla, chocolate, peppercorn, light funk/vinegar, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/light acidic yeast, dark/beady malt, oak, and light spice flavors; with a great malt/tart/spiciness balance, and zero puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Lightly increasing dryness from tartness and yeast/oak spiciness. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/bready/grainy, fairly acidic, and lightly tannic balanced mouthfeel that is fantastic. Zero warming alcohol for 9.1%. Overall this is an excellent Flanders oud bruin style! All around great complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/light acidic yeast, dark/beady malt, oak, and light spice flavors; very smooth and easy to drink with the mellowly acidic/tannic/drying finish. Perfectly balanced fruity Brett complexity and dark/bready malts; nice oak presence and mild complementing spices in the background. Not overly lactic with pleasant acidity. A really enjoyable offering, and spot on style example.

Torst, Brooklyn tap: pours dark brown with a whitish head. Aroma is fruity, funky, bit whatever is those dark smells they be up in here. Taste is a very dry sour sort of thing. Fruity, but lacking sweetness. Dark, but lacking roast, chocolate or coffee. Excellent aftertaste. Good.

Bottle thanks to Brian - Pours opaque black, small tan head, dissipates fairly quickly, decent lacing. Aroma is tannic, tart, lots of dark fruits, hints of pepper, roasted malt. Flavor is medium tart, light plus funk, oaky. Medium body. Pretty good when fresh. Numerical score reflects this rating previous rating appended for historical accuracy.

Older Rating: Bottle - this was an older one as Dantalion. Pours crystal clear reddish hazel, small beige head, some lacing Aroma and flavor are light plus sweet, light tart, dark sugars, spices. Medium body. Not bad. 7,4,7,4,13

Small greige-reddish head over deep garnet beer, well-carbonated. Mint, lavender, chlorophyl chewing gum. Sourish, faint vegetables, mango. Finish is mint again. Very carbonated, body gets hidden by the CO² & sour character. If they didn’t print the blurb, one would be afraid to ask what they did, here. The mint is weird, but in the end, the beer presents some charm.

Somewhere between a 2 and 4oz bottle pour at SAVOR 2015’s Saturday night session. Poured a cloudy reddish-brown color with a small tan head. Aroma was notes of hay, citrus, coffee. Flavor was roasted, dark fruit, with a light funky character.

Finally, I’m rating an Upland beer at the Upland sour fest. Deep brown color, fluffy tan head. Aroma of dark fruit. Taste is sour plums. Very tasty.

Bottle @ WWT IV, small sample. Slight hazy copper color, short head. Aroma is quite tart, bit acetic acid, bit fruity. Quite harsh sourness, bit acetic. Not the best.

Bottle at WWT. Almost black with small off white head. Lots of sour berries, balsamico vinegar, miso soup, lots of mint. Quite sour with an umami touch. Unusual beer, but I enjoyed my sample. Don’t know if I could drink a lot of this though.