7.1/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Growler shared in Canaan, NH. Cheers to Paul. Pours unclear gold with a bubbly white head. The nose has peach, tangerine, lemon. Light sweet flavor, acidic lemon, peach, hay. Light to medium bodied with average carbonation. Quenching finish, good bracing acidity, lemon, other citrus. A touch of grassy bitterness. Nice beer.
Tried
from Growler
on 19 Sep 2015
at 10:34
4.5/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 6
Overall 4
Bottle, 7/10/15, drunk 9/12/15.
Amber-copper body shows little carbonation creating an initially large white head that quickly recedes to cover/ring. Clarity is high, leaving the light sediment behind.
Heavily fruity and brett-laden nose displays a lot of the "bad brett elements". You know, the super-bready, rather harsh/astringent type. Centennial dry hops add more citrus character; orange peel, lemon and so forth, but don’t really seem to do much to complement the brett. There’s a nice plastery, house yeast character but while inhaling that, I also get a noseful of sharp, fusel alcohols....
The flavor is a heavily punchy-fruity brett character with sharp bitterness and astringent lime and grapefruit rind. Maltiness adds some softness to the texture, and to that end, the texture and carbonation are nice, but the flavors are just ruinous, with booze, heavily astringent bitterness and, alas, a moderate amount of diacetyl. Yikes. Not sure what happened here.
Amber-copper body shows little carbonation creating an initially large white head that quickly recedes to cover/ring. Clarity is high, leaving the light sediment behind.
Heavily fruity and brett-laden nose displays a lot of the "bad brett elements". You know, the super-bready, rather harsh/astringent type. Centennial dry hops add more citrus character; orange peel, lemon and so forth, but don’t really seem to do much to complement the brett. There’s a nice plastery, house yeast character but while inhaling that, I also get a noseful of sharp, fusel alcohols....
The flavor is a heavily punchy-fruity brett character with sharp bitterness and astringent lime and grapefruit rind. Maltiness adds some softness to the texture, and to that end, the texture and carbonation are nice, but the flavors are just ruinous, with booze, heavily astringent bitterness and, alas, a moderate amount of diacetyl. Yikes. Not sure what happened here.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Sep 2015
at 16:22
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Draught at release (May 2015) and bottle, from the release, drunk 9/4/15.
Let this guy sit in the fridge for 4 months and wow has it been aging gracefully. Clear, dark mahogany liquid is topped by a charred beige head that slowly recedes to cover.
Beautifully wedded wine, bacteria, roast and chocolate notes all provide an aromatic but not overpowering aroma. Vanilla, wine, some earthiness and of course light lactic and acetic undertones all seem to allow one another to present themselves without any one dominating. Even after warming, the alcohol is nowhere to be found and certainly there are no flaws.
Pretty much what I’m looking for in an Imperial Stout: Malty but not syrupy/sweet/cloying. Roast and vinous notes that don’t impart too much astringency or dominate the palate. Tight, airy carbonation that lightens and clears the palate, making the beer seem lighter and more drinkable. No harsh barrel tannins, soy or heavy wine flavors. No booze or sharpness/fusels.
With the ratings on the average to slightly above average here, I can see the complaints about it being light or too sour for an Imperial stout, and while I could do with a BIT more chewiness/malt structure on the palate, the pleasant lactic notes and overall balance more than make up for that, in my book. I can certainly see the sourness being off-putting to someone not in to sours, however, who was just looking for a classic American Imperial Stout.
Let this guy sit in the fridge for 4 months and wow has it been aging gracefully. Clear, dark mahogany liquid is topped by a charred beige head that slowly recedes to cover.
Beautifully wedded wine, bacteria, roast and chocolate notes all provide an aromatic but not overpowering aroma. Vanilla, wine, some earthiness and of course light lactic and acetic undertones all seem to allow one another to present themselves without any one dominating. Even after warming, the alcohol is nowhere to be found and certainly there are no flaws.
Pretty much what I’m looking for in an Imperial Stout: Malty but not syrupy/sweet/cloying. Roast and vinous notes that don’t impart too much astringency or dominate the palate. Tight, airy carbonation that lightens and clears the palate, making the beer seem lighter and more drinkable. No harsh barrel tannins, soy or heavy wine flavors. No booze or sharpness/fusels.
With the ratings on the average to slightly above average here, I can see the complaints about it being light or too sour for an Imperial stout, and while I could do with a BIT more chewiness/malt structure on the palate, the pleasant lactic notes and overall balance more than make up for that, in my book. I can certainly see the sourness being off-putting to someone not in to sours, however, who was just looking for a classic American Imperial Stout.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Sep 2015
at 16:55
7.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to Reynolds314! Pours cloudy Arnold Palmer, small fizzy off-white head, dissipates quickly leaving minimal residual or lacing. Aroma is funk, lemon, oak. Flavor is medium plus tart, fairly salty, oaky, lightly herbal. Medium body. Lingering tartness.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Sep 2015
at 00:14
8/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Thanks Jordan - Pours yellow/gold - Nose/taste of oak, barnyard, hay, lemon, white pepper, funky lemon - medium body.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Sep 2015
at 22:17
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to Jordan - Pours yellow gold white head. Nose/taste of chamomile, lemon, ginger root and wine/oak - medium body.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2015
at 01:11
7.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
Bottle thanks to Jordan - Pours dark orange white head. Nose/taste of white wine, oak, citrus, tangerine and pine - medium body.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2015
at 01:09
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle. Pours cloudy yellow gold. Nose and taste of gin, oak, Pinot, red wine, lemon and sour citrus - medium body
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2015
at 00:17
7.6/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle drunk 8/18/15 and draught at OEC, 8/15/15.
Pencil yellow body shows slight haze and a white head that is medium-sized and recedes slowly to cover.
Citrus and cheesey-lactic acidity in the nose also holds a touch of dry oak, with softer Belgian esters in the background. Having held the bottle for over 2 months, it’s certainly developed much more rapidly than the keg (unsurprisingly) and shows much more sourness. The draught version was much more reserved, still sour, but with a good dose of saison-like esters and phenols more noticeable still.
Anyways, beyond the obvious comparisons of a more developed sour beer vs a less, I do see the criticism that this thing is just too massively sour (though it certainly dosent bother me), but I still found enough saison character (being blended with 1 year old lambic is of course going to make this stuff sour). Sweetness is kept in check, of course, but there’s still a good dry, bready malt presence. Alcohol is pretty well-concealed while tons of fruitiness, moderate acetic notes and tons of lactic acid linger on the finish. Wish I could try the previous blends.
Pencil yellow body shows slight haze and a white head that is medium-sized and recedes slowly to cover.
Citrus and cheesey-lactic acidity in the nose also holds a touch of dry oak, with softer Belgian esters in the background. Having held the bottle for over 2 months, it’s certainly developed much more rapidly than the keg (unsurprisingly) and shows much more sourness. The draught version was much more reserved, still sour, but with a good dose of saison-like esters and phenols more noticeable still.
Anyways, beyond the obvious comparisons of a more developed sour beer vs a less, I do see the criticism that this thing is just too massively sour (though it certainly dosent bother me), but I still found enough saison character (being blended with 1 year old lambic is of course going to make this stuff sour). Sweetness is kept in check, of course, but there’s still a good dry, bready malt presence. Alcohol is pretty well-concealed while tons of fruitiness, moderate acetic notes and tons of lactic acid linger on the finish. Wish I could try the previous blends.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Aug 2015
at 14:12
8.6/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
Draught at the brewery, SourFest 8/15/15.
Lovely bright white golden body with lemonskin tints and a small but fairly creamy white head.
Good blend of malts and soft spicing in the nose, without any heavy lactic acidity. Not a sour ale, per se, but rather just an old style wit, most of which probably had a healthy dose of bacteria in them. Otherwise, lemony-citrus notes give a good acidity as very light ginger and honey balance. Sponge cake, light dough and a fresh, but not overdone herbal finish replete with just a shot of cheesiness. No alcohol, no flaws.
Light and fluffy in the mouth, with ample carbonation, well-attenuated but still soft maltiness and a variety of honey, wheat, very mild ginger and light yogurt on the end. Incredibly drinkable and quite mild/reserved for all the things that are added. I really like that these guys seem just as adept at making barrel-aged, wild yeast-laden sour blends as they do at making lighter, playful, drinkable session ales. Tough to say whether I’d use this or Exilis as the go-to session beer as both are exquisite. Sadly, I don’t have to make that decision since I don’t live close.
Lovely bright white golden body with lemonskin tints and a small but fairly creamy white head.
Good blend of malts and soft spicing in the nose, without any heavy lactic acidity. Not a sour ale, per se, but rather just an old style wit, most of which probably had a healthy dose of bacteria in them. Otherwise, lemony-citrus notes give a good acidity as very light ginger and honey balance. Sponge cake, light dough and a fresh, but not overdone herbal finish replete with just a shot of cheesiness. No alcohol, no flaws.
Light and fluffy in the mouth, with ample carbonation, well-attenuated but still soft maltiness and a variety of honey, wheat, very mild ginger and light yogurt on the end. Incredibly drinkable and quite mild/reserved for all the things that are added. I really like that these guys seem just as adept at making barrel-aged, wild yeast-laden sour blends as they do at making lighter, playful, drinkable session ales. Tough to say whether I’d use this or Exilis as the go-to session beer as both are exquisite. Sadly, I don’t have to make that decision since I don’t live close.
Tried
on 18 Aug 2015
at 17:34