Notes from June 2009 4.1 look: 4 - smell: 4.5 - taste: 4 - feel: 3.5 - overall: 4.5 Big Tex goes out of his way & surprises me for my birthday with a goodie. 32 ounces all for me. :D I think I've tasted some dregs from a bottle once, but I'm feeling like this is a really good time to be a little selfish. Poured into my favorite Ommegang Anniversary glass. The glass flips open & I get showered with lovely, vinous mist. 7 out of 10 out of shape beer geeks prefer this to being in the clubhouse after winning the Pennant I bet. :P It slowly gurgles out the bottle the color of dry blood, settling in the glass a murky oiled brown leather with edges of bourbon. An inch of frosted, slightly orange, coffee creamer head impedes my movement for just a bit. Smell is all about over-ripe cherry juice & perceived strawberry tartness. To a lesser extent, apple skins, butter, soil, & sweet table wine. Musk. The trail end is just slightly bready. Taste is vinegary of course but with a lot of soft white wine fruitiness. Lots of palate drying wood, & sour green apple esters. A bit of leather. Salivating pitty apricot tartness & bitter grapefruit rind. Paper dry finish. I consider funky notes a tossup on whether they work or not. This right here doesn't exhibit any barnyard or off-kilter aspects. If it's just done really well, I don't think it needs that quality to be effective. They certainly have the experience & modern equipment to mimic & refine something old world. Light to mild acetone harshness. Carbonation is just barely there, but I think it works. So dry. Okay, here's where I say all this negative stuff because I'm such a downer & everyone rakes me for it: The alcohol is noticeable through the fruit notes; eventual cottonmouth; price; heartburn... okay, I'm reaching. It's a very good beer with insignificant faults. Thank you Blake, may the winds shift a little more in you favor. :) Notes from March 2024 2015 tap @Strangeways. 3.7 Tulip. Cola dark, decent cookie head, bit of ruby light peeking through. Fruity red wine, cola & cherry chocolate nose. Different but inviting. Taste is a bit to moderately oxidized. Dark grape & sharp cherry, fortified red wine, lemon, sweet n sour leaning sour, touch of chocolate. Lost a little complexity but gained pedestrian drinkability. Prefer it fresh but this is still good.

Mahognifarget klar med beige skum. Lukter mørke stenfrukter, rosiner, trevirke og noe kirsebær. Middels fylde. Sursyrlig smak. Sure kirsebær, eddik, trevirke og noe grønne epler. Middels lang.

Bottle. Slightly unclear, dark brown body under a nice, moderate sized tan head. Aroma has malt, dry fruit, acidic red berries, wood, some cellar notes and slightly funky. Taste goes in the same direction as the aroma, sweetness from malt and dry fruit balancing against sour berries and vinegar. Mild wood , hint of caramel and smooth finish. Fine body, easy drinkable and a certain complexity.