bhensonb (22605) reviewed Farmer's Reserve 2 from Almanac Beer Company 13 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle from The Davis Beer Shop. Pours brilliant gold with a white head. Aroma is sour fruit (must be persimmons) with some spice. Med body. Flavor is sour, then spicy, then a bit sweet. Finishes off with some astringent oak. Very nice sour. A few minutes have passed. Vinosity is now very noticeable.
Anders37 (30296) reviewed Biere de Chocolat from Almanac Beer Company 13 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Draft @ Zeitgeist, San Francisco, CA. Pours a black color with a small tan head. Has a roasted malty sweetish chocolate aroma. Sweetish roasted malty chocolate and caramel flavor. Has a sweetish roasted malty chocolate finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Tap at Sacramento Beerfest 2013. Pours hazy gold with a beige head. Citrus aroma. Near full bodied. Quite malty with a good dose of citrus hop. Different.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Bottle. Pours with a hazed golden hued body with a small white head that fades relatively quickly. Aromas are of white wine, ginger, crisp, earthy persimmons, light tropical fruit, kumquats and something savory I can’t place. Medium Brett. Very vinous. Flavors are dry, tart and crisp with a bit of ginger spice notes and juicy white wine vinous character, good oak, nice fruit character, dry, a bit jammy moderate funk and good acidity. Cleanly lactic. Excellent. I prefer this noticeably to the FR#1, despite thinking I’d like that one more going into this. Lively bubbles, nicely tart, low spice, crisp and quenching.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle. Pours with a hazed, sunset orange hued body with a moderate off white head that succumbs to the acidity. Tart aromas, lots of damp wood and wine barrel with lot of funk, damp leaves and pickled fruits. Plums and very tart grapes. Plenty of tannin and soil. Mild vanillin. Flavors are sour (cleanly) funky, and juicy fruit. A hint of a young Brett Cheerio character, a touch malty, earthy soil and strong earthy wine barrel and oak. Vinous. Very juicy albeit muddled fruit character. Good acid and tannin balance. Cleanly lactic acidity. Pretty good stuff. Moderate to slightly lively carbonation, decently puckering and dry. Good stuff!
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Pour with a near black hued body and a moderate sized khaki head that slowly fades. Moderate lace. Aromas are of cocoa nibs and toasted nuts. A touch oily, light smoke, light molasses, medium ester, some dark fruit and ripe apple. Dry, earthy, moderate roast. Lots of dusty nib character. Lightly floral. Flavors are dry, herbal, lightly tea like, minty, bitter and dry. Huge bitter chocolate, unprocessed and raw. Nibs: chocolate minus the sweetness. Could use a bit of vanilla, lactose or even some more dextrins to boost the chocolate perception. Quite dry and bitter. Medium bodied, mildly roasty, some iodine. Moderately low carbonation. Dry, not bad, but a different chocolate expression than I was expecting: this is raw!
BMan1113VR (8090) reviewed Barrel Noir from Almanac Beer Company 13 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Winter 2012 Bottle. Pours with a black body and a large and retentive brown head. Good lace. Aromas of dark fruit (plums, figs and pomegranate), licorice, cocoa nibs, molasses, licorice, cola, oak and medium barrel notes. Raisins, dark fruit esters, a touch of roast and a hint of acetone. Dusty, milk chocolate. Flavors Re of charred barrel, roasted figs, molasses, tobacco and bakers chocolate. Huge depth and complexity to both the aroma and flavor. Dry, medium licorice, dates, raisins and pomegranate. A touch of mineral. Vanillin. Subdued alcohol heat with moderate fusel. Feels relatively dry. Flint. Moderate to fuller body with what feels like medium to medium low (~2.4 vol) carbonation. Well done.
Bytemesis (16229) reviewed Farmer's Reserve 1 from Almanac Beer Company 13 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottle. Pours hazy golden amber with a small off-white head that dissipates with nice lacing. Aroma is tart, cherry, lemon, fruit, touch of hay. Flavor is the same, with a bit of red wine. Light sweet and light plus tartness leading to a dry finish. Just a bit of woody astringence from the barrel treatment. Medium body, champagne-like mouthfeel. Quite the nice beer.
bhensonb (22605) reviewed Barrel Noir from Almanac Beer Company 13 years ago
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle from The Davis Beer Shoppe. Pours black with a 4 finger foamy/creamy darkish tan head. Aroma is sort of dark chocolate over treacle. And it’s actually better than those words indicate. Full bodied or nearly so. Lots of chocolate, maybe a bit of licorice, surely some tasty dark treacle. Oh. Maybe there’s some heat - but it’s flavor, not annoyance. Wow. Finishes not quite dry , and very, very flavorful. Brilliant dark ale.
bhensonb (22605) reviewed Farmer's Reserve 1 from Almanac Beer Company 13 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Capped 375 from The Davis Beer Shoppe. Pours very hazy orange with traces of a white head. Aroma is sour mixed fruits. Quite sour! Med body. Mildly fizzy carb. Flavor is sour and vinous. Also non-dark pitted fruit. Could be peach or plum. This is quite sour, but not so sour it destroys the mouth. Finishes like grapes and unripe plum skins. Some oak astringent is discernible at the very end. Quite tasty.