8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
750ml of the new batch - pours a very hazy gold, with a fizzy body, and a large head of enormous bubbles - a nice mixture of candi sugar sweetness and fruits (pineapple, mango) in the nose, but deeper whiffs reveal notes of hay, spices, light earthy funkiness and musky character - full carbonation in the mouth - the flavor is quite sweet at first, with a lot of fruity notes of banana, pineapple, apricot - remains sweet through the middle, with some yeasty and bready notes - on the back end, the beer dries out considerably, and some crisp, grassy notes and dry spices and herbs settle in - the finish has a very mild earthiness, and even a slight funk to it - these qualities work well with a crusty, crackery character that also develops at the end - I would like this to dry out even more, but it’s still great - I’m surprised how much I love this beer - if only this brewery did have so much batch variation and bottling issues - I would buy a whole case otherwise.
Tried
from Can
on 05 Jun 2009
at 21:28
6.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On cask at the Spuyten Duyvil in Brooklyn. Opaque, slightly watery, deep brown/black with a spitty beige head. Aroma of chocolate, vanilla, nuts, caramel and roasted malts. Flavor has some crackers, biscuits, vanilla, heavy milk chocolate obviously, some coffee. Finish is slightly watery and slightly chalky. Pleasing.
Tried
from Cask
on 10 May 2009
at 17:32
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Growler fill from Bierkraft - very hazy gold, with a thick, soapy film around the glass - somewhat lemony aroma, with slight herbal character, light wheat, bread - creamy on the palate - the flavor fails to make an impression at first, leaving nothing of much substance lingering after the first few sips - however, you start to realize that that is partly the point here - this is supposed to be a smooth, easy drinking beer - and as you get into it, you notice some bread yeast notes, dry, crackery, wheaty qualities, and crisp, dry, lightly peppery bitterness, especially on the back end - but none of these characteristics jump out at you - they never get in the way of the smooth, refreshing nature of the beer - quite a pleasure to drink, really - I’ve had my issues with Defiant, but I’m glad I tried this beer.
Tried
from Growler
on 07 Feb 2009
at 20:47
6.9/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Manhattan Cask Fest - this particular batch was pils malt and amarillo hops, and was listed as a golden ale with 4.2% abv - and I quite enjoyed it, although I appeared to be the only one - hazy light golden beer, with some soapy bubbles - semi-skunky, lightly sweet aroma, but it gets better from there - nice, dry, and crackery, with strong amarillo bitterness, and some light bready character late - floral qualities late as well - comes across as a fairly decent golden ale.
Tried
from Cask
on 22 Sep 2008
at 21:53
7.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8
Cask at The Beer Table. Black with a tan head. Malty, light cocoa, sweet caramel malts in the aroma. Thin bodied with light carbonation. Flavor is light malts, sweet, some roasted malts, dark fruit, and slightly sour. A mild porter, but very nicely done.
Tried
from Cask
on 17 Aug 2008
at 23:43
4.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4.5
@ Blind Tiger-on cask-pours an off white ring for a head and cloudy brown color. Aroma is musty, yeast. Taste is vinegar/acidic, medium malt, musty, yeast. Is this a Flemish sour ale? If yes, good, but not my style. My 2.8 otherwise 2.2
Tried
from Cask
on 08 Jun 2008
at 16:29
4.6/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4.5
750ml bottle@Hoboken#1-thanks –pours a white head and cloudy straw color. Aroma is sour vinegar, lemon, faint wheat. Taste is smooth, sour vinegar, lemon, faint wheat. Mild carbonation. Occasional. If a sour ale, 3.2 but it’s not from the description, 2.3
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Jun 2008
at 19:51
4.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 4
Overall 4
Amber and hazy. Caramel and fruit nose with some plastic phenols. Thick, fairly plasticy taste. Kind of water in the finish. Not sure this worked out too well.
Tried
on 26 May 2008
at 10:22
4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 3
Texture 4
Overall 4
Sampled at Dickinsonbeer’s Hoboken gathering - something went horribly wrong here - those that got the top half of this bottle really liked it, but those of us that got the bottom half were subjected to a beer the smelled like sulfur and acid-soaked flowers - the flavor had some honey and floral notes, but the finish was all rotten egg - how there was this much variation from ONE BOTTLE is beyond me.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 May 2008
at 20:06
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Sampled at Dickinsonbeer’s Hoboken gathering - inky black pour, with a serious tan head - mildly tannic/tart aroma, with gentle vanilla sweetness and espresso bitterness - soft carbonation in the mouth - roasty, almost to the point of being ashy, but vanilla sweetness and a hint of smoke balance things out to keep that quality from becoming overpowering - quite nice.
Tried
on 15 May 2008
at 20:02