Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Cask-GBBF. Clear dark brown with a medium sized off-white head. Grapefruit aroma with some wood and some brett Malty flavour with some tartness, and some grapefruit character. Surprisingly drinkable. Yummy!
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Cask gravity at GBBF 2007. Haze amber, lasting bubbly beige head. A load of flowery grapefruit hop. Surprisingly full in mouth, decent syrupy toffee structure, herby grapefruit, not much condition, but a pleasant IPA and one of the few this week that’s had a good body.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Cask at GBBF 2007 ... Brown ... fruity lactic sour ... very fruity with a touch of not unpleasent lactic sourness ... little grapefruit.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Sampled at Belgian Beer Fest - quite a golden colored biere de guarde, making me expect a more hoppy, pilsner-like flavor, as is often the case with the lighter ones - perhaps the cognac barrels softened them, but there were hardly any hops here - slightly sweet, and quite mild, with medium to light body - the cognac comes through quite a lot, but doesn’t overpower the light spiciness, and hint of light fruit (grapes mostly) - quite interesting, but their other offerings were better.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Sampled at Belgian Beer Fest, Boston - probably one of the best sour ales at this fest (and there were MANY) - the brett came through a lot more than in the others - a very woody character in the aroma and flavor - cherry and hints of dry, under-ripe raspberries - barnyardy funk far in the back, but still quite present - finishes dry, leaving the mouth watering for more - one of the other hits of this event for me.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Draught samples at EBF 2006.
Murky coal black/brown body shows almost no clarity. Wispy beige-tan head sits atop lightly, receding to cover, with some sudsy lacing.
Shocking clarity in the nose of Belgian yeast (brett), yet is so seemlessly woven in with the American aspects of the beer (roast, chocolate, bourbon) that you’d think Mike had been perfecting this porter for years. Not overwhelmed by any one aspect, but with noticeable esters and light vanilla hints. The wood is soft, wise and reserved in the nose, leading to a light dusty, earthy, musty note that further deepens the complexity. Bourbon is faint and done as it should be, adding only a touch of liquorous magic to this already enchanting brett-spiked aroma. Certainly the fresh, unpasteurized nature of the beer does not hurt things either, as the grainy barley, soft chocolate and full malt sweetness soothes the nose.
The flavor has somewhat more in the bourbon department, though the wood dryness and light vanilla is more apparent. But choco-caramel sweetness, flecks of tar and ash and a dignified, raisin/prune-like old ale quality all calm things down as the beer nestles in to the palate. Warming shows more vinous qualities, and some stronger, slightly out-of-place brett bi-products, but it is still a terifically complex beer which is anything but your typical "porter". Dry, ashen-smokiness curls the tongue on the end, as tart fruits combine to leave a pleasing dryness. The soft, wonderfully extracted malt body, however, keeps the texture supportive. Carbonation is low, as expected. No alcohol is apparent.
What a masterpiece! Hopefully we see this again (and with the same restraint on the barrel character!).
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Draught Samples at two beer festivals, the most recent of which was the New England Beer Fest on 10/29/2005.
Thick-looking liquid is a deep golden-brass, with hints of light peach/tangerine tints. Very dense, creamy white head is well-retained and provides sticky lacing in rings at the top of the glass. Clarity is medium to medium-low.
The nose is filled with spices. Quite varied, and they keep the nose on the tip of its toes, but at the same time, it drives back the yeasty/Belgian part of the beer almost completely. What is left behind, is a touch of lightly fruity esters (pineapple, mango, lemon) that fold easily in to a sweet, honeyish malt finish, still quite alive with ginger and pepper. Spices do not seem to die down as it progresses, nor is there much in the way of hop crispness (some leafy, lightly grassy notes are minimally bitter). Coriander dryness helps balance things, but coincidentally, also aids in bullying the real saison qualities.
The flavor seems overloaded with spices. While some tropical fruit notes do break through, it almost adds to the overwhelming sense of strong flavors going on here. Malt is strong, sweet and could probably stand a bit more attenuation. 5% ABV from an OG of 1.053 leaves quite a bit of sugar behind. Ginger lays in to the palate as pepper and coriander build up and create some near astringent qualities on the finish. Mouthfeel is certainly full, strong and supportive, but again, not exactly crisp, as I would seek in a saison. Still, for an American spiced interpretation, it’s clean/without brewing flaw. Alcohol is not apparent.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
cask-pours a cloudy orange-brown color (burnt orange). Aroma is citrus. Taste is sweet, syrupy, malt, lots of biting citrus/grapefruit hops. Comes to the level of a 2IPA. OK carb, which is more than most cask versions. Good sipping beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
on tap-pours a foamy white head with hazy yellow/orange color. Aroma is sweet fruit, pleasant, refreshing. Taste is fruit, wheat, hops. Good carbonation.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
cask-pours a head that’s white foamy bubbles with cloudy orange color. Aroma is citrus hops. Taste is citrus hops, sweet fruit, floral, secondary malt, mellow. Nice.
Earlier Rating: 10/28/2005 Total Score: 4
on tap-pours a creamy light tan head. Color is amber, a little darker than Red Tail. Aroma is malt & hops. Taste is malt, then plenty of hops. Crisp. Good carbonation.