Draught at the brewery, 5/4/16.
Dark mahogany with deep garnet tints, low clarity and a beige head that fades quickly.
Wormwood gruits are about as acquired a taste as it gets. Much like lambics, the flavors are very extreme and it’s difficult to make that they are "balanced" beers. Despite my strong preference for balanced beers, I love these things. Big wormwood, lavender, soap, licorice and tart fruits (fermenting strawberry, raspberry, apple) give a very challenging nose with "lactic" character and very little of the amarillo hops, if any, breaking through. Light, dry, toffee-like malts and sourdough bread form the backing structure and there’s no alcohol or flaw.
Strong wormwood character gives off plenty of licorice like bitterness as soft fruitiness and homogenized bitterness is the extent of the amarillo. Sourdough and juicy, spoiling cherry/apple/strawberry play against the bitter absinthe notes. Strong, bitter, tart. Definitely not overly balanced, but really interesting if you’re in to these things.