Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Draught at Row 34, 10/5/16.
Bright, clear, violet-magenta body shows light carbonation.
Surprisingly soft currant notes in the nose allow apple sugars, light tannin and fruity berry notes to emerge. Light vanilla, hints of plum, currant, raisin and even a touch of orange rind. Nicely balanced and not overdone with the currants, with no flaw or alcohol.
Tart, lightly so, in the mouth, with moderate, engaging carbonation and a fairly soft, tannin-buttressed body that displays light wine-like notes from the currant and apple fermentation combination. More drinkable than I expected, with less intense dryness/tartness from the currants than most currant beverages have. Great balance with moderate sweetness and lots of earthy, spicy notes from currant and apple skin.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Draught at Deep Ellum, 3/12/16.
Very light haze to the deep waxen yellow body with light carbonation.
Very fruity, soft, and full of light floral notes, deeper juicy characteristics and pretty low phenolics. Doesn’t have any heavy mac-like applesauce character, yet nor is it incredibly dry.
The flavor is heavily fruity, with lush golden apple-like sweetness that quickly is dried out by vanilla and very moderate acid notes. Soft carbonation, but fairly ample and, I suppose, off-dry overall. Seems a touch more real/freshly pressed than other stuff around here (Bantam, Downeast, etc..) and the flavors are more enjoyable. No heavy sweetness/underfermented/sulfited-sugars.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle sample at Hopsters Alley, 11/13/15.
Carbonated pour shows a brassy white gold body with a small white head that recedes to a ring. Medium clarity.
Sweat, tart apple skins, white pepper and light band aids are certainly not what i was expecting. Hops add kiwi, guava and mango to the mix and you’ve got yourself all the makings of a brett pale ale....
The brett really caught me off-guard here and it’s done quite well. A bit sweeter than I’d like, ultimately, but the hops help balance and add their own wonderful tropical fruit flavors. Carbonation is fairly tight and the cider has a really zesty, bright funk to it. Almost went back and bought a bottle (but I’d already spent way too much that day). Guess it’s on tap now at Lord Hobo, so I’ll probably give it a try on draught soon.