Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Taster at the brewpub. Color is black, has a small khaki head. Aroma is clean German matls with light roast and a bit of effervescence (for me it is wheat but i guess its the rye). Taste has slight roast again which is offset by the effervescent rye again. Its a cool schwar (or it could be a stout, but I am thinking schwarz) with that side component of rye.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9
I hate the fact that FS teases people with this beer but doesn’t release till Friday when all the beer geeks have made there trip out. Luckily I happen to live in Lawrence. Unfortunately, I wish they had made more of this, so I can drink it all the freaking time. A snifter pour at the brewpub that is completely murky, I mean cannot see through it at all. Its all brown and thick, very dense looking. The head, oh the head on this thing, khaki colored and super strong, never fully subsiding. Aroma is BAM! All up in you. Its got sour brown rotting apples with lots of alcoholic grape and some melon. The alcohol accentuates the fruitiness and it becomes a cavalcade of craziness. You could feel the strong malty and yeasty Belgian aspects have been overtaken by some alcoholic barrel and sourness. Taste has a similar alcoholic spike with some effervescent sweet brown sugar with a heavy apple skins aftertaste. Layer of flavors playing off of each other. The mouthfeel was just ok, I was hoping something a bit thicker and slicker (more like their Owd Macs). I was blown away by this beer, highly impressed, I wish I could drink this again.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
12 oz draft at the 20th anniversary party for Free State. Pour is hazed golden with a 1/2 inch white head. Nice lacing. Aroma of sweet blueberry, cranberry and raspberry. Bit of lemon with some sugar. Some wheat behind that in the nose. Taste is syrupy berry (the same as the nose in this order) cranberry - raspberry - blueberry, all with more sweetness than tartness. Not really natural tasting, after the sweetness is the grainy earth wheat, which was actually quite nice. Some tart sour jumps out at the end. Grassy grainy thin medium palate. Clean finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
12 oz draft at the brewpub during the 20th Anniversary of Free State celebration. Pour is hazed golden orange with not much of a head. Despite this, there is some nice white lacing as the beer falls. Aroma of not much, some wheat, maybe some light earthy yeastiness. Taste is tart sour wheat, with some residual waxiness near the finish. The aftertaste has some floral hop spice bitter thing going on which was nice. Palate is thin to medium, which led to this being a nicely drinkable beer. Overall, nice straight forward wheat ale.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Growler from the brewery, filled 5 days previously, by way of JB. Pour is only the slightest haze - golden with a one inch off white head. Nice lacing sticks to the glass as I drink it down. Aroma was immediate upon opening the growler, bright fresh spruce pine and sap. Once its in the glass, some nice resin bitterness comes through, with toasted Pils malt and a very faint hint of vanilla sweetness. Fresh and complex nose. Taste is the bitter resin pine hops and sweet bready malt. There is also a bright chemical sharpness that was a bit of a surprise. Wasn’t too pronounced, but was distracting. Palate is on the thin-medium side, slick with a grassy finish. The pine hops linger. Overall, an interesting beer - this is the first of these "big Pils" that I had that actually tasted like a Pilsener. Thanks for lugging this back from Lawrence, JB.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Growler shared by / with Gregis. Pour is brown copper, slight haze with a nicely formed one inch off white. Nice settling. Pretty lacing. Aroma of English grainy hops and some grassy maltiness. Taste is grainy cereal biscuit maltiness, English hops, piney hops, and mineral earthiness. The finish is dry with a nice brace of bitterness. There is also a bright element to this that doesn’t quite work, detracting from the taste a bit. Palate is medium, mouth coating, dry at the same time. Overall, a really nice session beer, perhaps drifting more towards an EPA, but I like that. This should be a regular lineup beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Shaker pour at the brewpub. Comes to me with a stick and large brown head atop of a black body. Aroma is hoppy (green, vine-y hops)/ with some slick prune. Taste is a lot more slick with prune, tobacco and some bitter green hops at the end. The aroma is less interesting with straight hoppiness mainly but better, richer aspects in the flavor. Has a thicker, lightly viscous mouthfeel that goes well with the rest of the beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
22 oz hand bottle filled straight from a keg by csbosox. Pour is a cloudy orange golden with a small white head that fades right away. A few bubbles remain on the top floating around. Aroma of pine resin hops and some vegetable earthiness behind that. There is vaguely Belgian yeastiness present, but not terribly pronounced. Bready malt is there too, but it’s a bit buried behind the hops and earthiness. Taste is grainy resin pine hoppiness initially, turning to slight cloves and banana yeastiness. Kind of unexpected, but doesn’t detract too much. Palate is unfiltered, medium-light and drinkable. The finish has some sharp citrus fruit, more orange peel than orange. There is a lot of interesting flavors going on here, but they all seem to be on there own. This is basically a nice IPA and a nice Belgian Ale thrown together. When you stop thinking about this too much it ends up being quite enjoyable. Thanks for filling this one for me Chris.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
22 oz hand bottle filled for me by csbosox. This was filled from a keg Chris purchased from the brewery Jan / Feb 2008 that Chris had stored. Pour is deep brown black with a well formed 3 inch khaki head. Head turns rocky than falls with some nice lacing. Pretty beer. Aroma of grainy malt, some espresso roast a bit of dark chocolate. Taste is the dark roast, nice coffee notes and a a nice cane sugar / caramel sweetness. The roast starts, with the sweetness finishing. This is really nice, reminds me more of a Foreign stout than an imperial, but regardless, quite nice. Finish has some nice bitterness on top of the sweetness. The palate is medium, drinkable for this size of a beer. Thanks a ton for filling this one up for me Chris.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
10 oz draft pour at the brewpub. Pour is clear golden, with a bunch of carbonation bubbles. Smallish white head. Aroma is sweet honey floral, some Belgian candy sugar yeastiness. Taste is big honey sweet, the Belgian yeastiness, mid palate there are grassy and hay elements that finish though the end. Palate is medium, sweetness is a bit cloying. Aftertaste is lasting and dry. Decent enough Trippel.