6.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 4
Overall 6
Hazy golden ale with a thick white head. Sour wheat with lactic notes in aroma. Thin astringent sour ale with less character than in aroma lets predict. Falls flat, with overly tartness, like squeezed lemon. Dissapointed. DumDum’s Belgian Sendoff on August 25, 2005.
Tried
on 10 Jan 2006
at 21:21
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Tasted at Belgium Comes to Cooperstown, July 16, 2005. Dark clear brown with a moka head. Chocolate in aroma, a bit spiced. Sour chocolate malt with light hops, acidic points, light caramel malt in taste.
Tried
on 04 Jan 2006
at 18:32
6.9/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 6.5
Dark pour with large, foamy tan head. Aroma of sour cherry and tart farm country air. Sourness permeates the flavor, but there are some sweet notes - cherry and apple. Highly carbonated, reminiscent of champagne. Was unimpressed at the start, but grew on me as I sipped my way through the glass.
Tried
on 25 Dec 2005
at 12:49
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Interesting to see such a "run-of-the-mill" style deemed a OTOP beer - clear copper pour with huge white head - aroma of cinnamon, raisin, cherries soaked in rum - medium bodied, pretty foamy in the mouth - high sweetness, but tempered by a woody, smokey quality - I certainly taste the port qualities that sneagrams was talking about - brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate - some spiciness comes late, and helps the smoke keep the sweetness from becoming cloying - very well-balanced - ranks up there with the established doppels of europe - Heavyweight, please start making some of these OTOP beers into regulars!
Tried
on 20 Dec 2005
at 20:44
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 8.5
For a while, I viewed Heavywieght as an above-average brewery with some solid offerings. However, after trying many of their OTOP beers (especially the saisons), I now place them as one of the top five most innovative brewers in the country, possibly the world. This beer just solidifies that opinion - for a long time, I didn’t even know what "brett" was, let alone know how to identify the flavors it produced - now that I know, I must say that the brett characteristics are really quite prominent, yet not overstated in this beer - the sour cherry flavors aren’t quite mouth-puckering enough to equate this with a true "sour ale," but it does lend a lambic-like quality - oak and vinous notes weave in and out - musty and very earthy - sourness drops out in the finish, leaving a touch of chocolate and spices, along with a flavor/mouthfeel that I can only describe as "milky" - this is one of the most interesting beers I’ve had in a long time - very subtle - take some time with this one before you judge it.
Tried
from Can
on 17 Dec 2005
at 20:28
5.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 4.5
pours an off white head. Hazy gold color. Juniper is in the aroma and taste. Mild taste, interesting.
Tried
on 17 Dec 2005
at 11:17
8.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
’03-12oz bottle-pours a thin fizzy white head that vanishes. Hazy/cloudy that you can’t see thru, deep orange, with sediment floating throughout. Aroma is fruity/apple, berry, herb. Musty. Taste is initially a burst of everything that the nose picked up. Then some additional notes add in from plum, cherry, honey, malt, wheat and tartness. Not a session beer, but quite interesting, nice. 4.2
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Dec 2005
at 10:44
6.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 5
Texture 8
Overall 6
750ml bottle-pours a creamy tan head that retains. Cloudy orange color. Aroma is wheat, malty, banana, flowery. Taste is creamy malt, clove/spice, banana, hint of cranberry. The clove/spice seems to override the other flavors.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Dec 2005
at 10:38
5.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 5
Flavor 5
Texture 6
Overall 5
750ml bottle-pours a foamy, dissipating, tan head. Cloudy orange-red color. Aroma is cherry, malt, achohol. Taste is cherry, vinegar, oaky, white wine. Texture as it goes across the tongue is resin-like. Similar characteristics to Rodench Flemish, which is an acquired taste.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Dec 2005
at 10:35
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
2005 bottle shared by SuIIy on 11/25/05 with JoshuaB and JoshuaH.
Pours an unfiltered, bronze-amber with light copper hues throughout. Perched atop is an off-white to beige colored foamy head, well-retained and creating plenty of lacing. Never dissipates completely. Tiny, natural carbonated bubbles rise lazily. Aroma gives off notes of fresh cut grass, dill, white pepper and a light dose of earthy, damp soil. Sweet almond cream, light bits of lemon-peel and vanilla with a large sweet doughiness that is very inviting. What really strikes me is the lack of spice, not your typical overly drying coriander/cardamon and thick, drying yeast. It is yeasty, but lightly so, and more delicate than most American saisons. The hops are gentle but very aromatic, giving a fresh green herbal and wet grass note.
Flavor begins with plenty of light caramel/pale malt sweetness, thick honey, juicy green hoppiness (sugar and herbs, spicy grass) and only light pepper and a touch of lemon-lime citrus. Throughout the flavor, the well-done yeast, which begins much stronger than the aroma would suggest, imparts dusty, not-quite sour-like notes, bits of acidic moments at best, which balance well against the ample, creamy-sweet body. Ends equally well-balanced as it begins, with leafy-dry herbs/spices never getting in your face. Carbonation is light, tight and adds just a touch more texture than the creamy malt sugars give.
I don’t understand why these appropriately-spiced saisons are the extreme minority in American brewing.
Pours an unfiltered, bronze-amber with light copper hues throughout. Perched atop is an off-white to beige colored foamy head, well-retained and creating plenty of lacing. Never dissipates completely. Tiny, natural carbonated bubbles rise lazily. Aroma gives off notes of fresh cut grass, dill, white pepper and a light dose of earthy, damp soil. Sweet almond cream, light bits of lemon-peel and vanilla with a large sweet doughiness that is very inviting. What really strikes me is the lack of spice, not your typical overly drying coriander/cardamon and thick, drying yeast. It is yeasty, but lightly so, and more delicate than most American saisons. The hops are gentle but very aromatic, giving a fresh green herbal and wet grass note.
Flavor begins with plenty of light caramel/pale malt sweetness, thick honey, juicy green hoppiness (sugar and herbs, spicy grass) and only light pepper and a touch of lemon-lime citrus. Throughout the flavor, the well-done yeast, which begins much stronger than the aroma would suggest, imparts dusty, not-quite sour-like notes, bits of acidic moments at best, which balance well against the ample, creamy-sweet body. Ends equally well-balanced as it begins, with leafy-dry herbs/spices never getting in your face. Carbonation is light, tight and adds just a touch more texture than the creamy malt sugars give.
I don’t understand why these appropriately-spiced saisons are the extreme minority in American brewing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Nov 2005
at 16:20