7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Shared by BBB63 at DLD. From a growler. Pours a murky dark brown with virtually no head. Big bourbon nose. The flavor is a complex blend of the bourbon, (which is pretty well dominanat), spice, caramel, and dark dried fruits. Hides the alcohol very well.
Tried
from Growler
on 02 Aug 2007
at 07:31
4.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 4
Flavor 4
Texture 4
Overall 4
Draught sample at ABF on 6/16/07
Very foamy, resilient, faded-ivory head sits atop a hazy, deep tart cherry red body, with some lighter strawberry hints. Lacing is profuse.
Something didn’t go quite right here, with a very tannic, dull, heavy barrel influence overshadowing much of the beer, but also heavy phenol and some solvent-like notes as well (more phenols, but different than the typical peppery, dry, Belgian/wild yeast phenol). It’s not aggressive, but certainly the cherries in the nose are no match for it. Dries things out immediately, beyond where it should, with little sweetness/malt comfort in reserve. Vanilla and an odd, plummy-brandy note that is very minimal. The barrel certainly wasnt a first (or second?) run on this beer, it would seem. Graininess and light dough sit on the finish, with a tart juiciness from the cherries failing rapidly. Alcohol is apparent, further stripping the aroma.
The flavor simply does not have enough beer character. The malts are severely lacking, with only some honey and vanilla-creaminess, that is extremely short-lived. Graininess, tannic and yeast blandness all dull the cherry flavor to the point that you mostly just taste the citric acid. Combine this with some alcohol and solvent-like flavors and it goes from bland and overdried/attenuated, to sharp and astringent. Medicinal, on the end, you might say. Strange, chewy, yeast and tannin-heavy mouthfeel with lots of carbonation.
Very foamy, resilient, faded-ivory head sits atop a hazy, deep tart cherry red body, with some lighter strawberry hints. Lacing is profuse.
Something didn’t go quite right here, with a very tannic, dull, heavy barrel influence overshadowing much of the beer, but also heavy phenol and some solvent-like notes as well (more phenols, but different than the typical peppery, dry, Belgian/wild yeast phenol). It’s not aggressive, but certainly the cherries in the nose are no match for it. Dries things out immediately, beyond where it should, with little sweetness/malt comfort in reserve. Vanilla and an odd, plummy-brandy note that is very minimal. The barrel certainly wasnt a first (or second?) run on this beer, it would seem. Graininess and light dough sit on the finish, with a tart juiciness from the cherries failing rapidly. Alcohol is apparent, further stripping the aroma.
The flavor simply does not have enough beer character. The malts are severely lacking, with only some honey and vanilla-creaminess, that is extremely short-lived. Graininess, tannic and yeast blandness all dull the cherry flavor to the point that you mostly just taste the citric acid. Combine this with some alcohol and solvent-like flavors and it goes from bland and overdried/attenuated, to sharp and astringent. Medicinal, on the end, you might say. Strange, chewy, yeast and tannin-heavy mouthfeel with lots of carbonation.
Tried
on 18 Jul 2007
at 16:41
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Growler from DLD - A tiny label on the Livery growler said "IPA Paw" (thought it said "raw" at the time), and given that one sip told me it was definitely an imperial IPA, this brew must be it. Pours copper with a one finger head and a very hoppy aroma. The flavor is intense, pine accented hops. Medium bodied and lively on the palate, I thought the hops was crisp and quite tasty, but it needed more malt to be balanced. I’m the only one who seems to think so thus far, so take that for what it’s worth. Rerate, draft at the brewery - Hazy yellow, heavy lacing, grapefruit hops aroma, Intensely hopped, good grapefruit flavors, ling bitter finish. 7/4/8/4/15. Averaging that with first rating of 6/4/7/3/14.
Tried
from Growler
on 02 May 2007
at 21:21
7.5/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
On tap at The Livery, described as a hopped-up doppelbock. Deep garnet-red body, medium creamy buff head. A real gem appearance-wise. Herbal, soapy aroma with breads and yeast. The body begins with a wash of floral, earthy hops, cloaking the rich berries, brown sugar, and caramely malts. Light notes of clover honey complement the rest of the sweets. Never cloying, fortunately, as a light, prickly bitterness closes the beer out with the light astringency of fall leaves. A very nice beer.
Tried
from Draft
on 17 Apr 2007
at 17:52
6.4/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
On cask at The Livery. Murky medium orange body, thick creamy buff head. Rather light nose, primarily of citrusy hops. Toasty, bready body, tannic elements appearing after a few sips. Lemon and wood characteristics add intrigue to the palate. Mineraly, with hints of cookie dough. Creamy palate. Subtle complexity, but I wasn’t bowled over. My classification may merit revision, too.
Tried
from Cask
on 17 Apr 2007
at 17:47
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
$10 snifter at the brewpub; ouch! I tried the regular version at the MBG Winter Beer Fest, so thought I’d give the barrel-enhanced version a shot. Murky red-brown body, medium buff head. Distinctly oaky nose with fruitskin and earth. Oaky, fruity body with dusty barrel and cherry pit, musty. I echo BBB63’s comments about this being close to a Flemish Brown Ale. My first impression was De Dolle Oerbier Reserva 2002, minus most of the tartness. A good combination of funk and fruit.
Tried
on 17 Apr 2007
at 17:42
6.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Sampled at the 2nd annual Michigan Winter Beer Festival, Lansing. Orange-brown body, medium buff head. A different take on a brown ale, with firm hoppiness (piney and bitter) tending to dominate the caramely, toasty malts in both the aroma and palate. Creamy and somewhat thin palate.
Tried
on 26 Feb 2007
at 14:24
6.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Sampled at the 2nd annual Michigan Winter Beer Festival, Lansing. Dominated by a round oakiness with subdued cherry, relatively little sweetness or tartness. Wild and earthy, but not one of my favorites at the fest.
Tried
on 26 Feb 2007
at 13:42
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Sampled at the 2nd annual Michigan Winter Beer Festival, Lansing. My favorite new beer at the fest. Dark brown body, thin off-white head. Great complexity, with toffee, burnt sugars, banana, and chocolate characterizing the soft, creamy body. Warming alcohol on the finish, slight tartness. I drank about 12 ounces of this in total and could have kept coming back for more. Another one I need to revisit.
Tried
on 25 Feb 2007
at 19:02
8.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Hand bottled sample from the illustrious BigBadBear himself, shared with OldGrowth on 3/14/06 in a tulip at slightly below room temp
The beer is immensely dark, with a soy sauce-like appearance, quite viscous and with very low carbonation, not enough to form a head, but gives a small, deep tan ring of bubbles, and thick legs/residue on the glass. A small head can be coaxed, however, upon swirling. Unfiltered and nearly opaque.
The nose opens up with strong, warming, sweet and rich molasses, soy, port and the signature weizen yeast fruit (bananas, apples) and of course some bubblegum, though it’s more a cotton candy sweetness, adding a feathery-light, lively note to the otherwise seriously intense sipper. Maple, toffee, and just huge, sweet prunes and rich, amplified caramel. Very strong, and one that you can sit and sniff for hours. If there are flaws in the beer, I find none in the aroma. Even a touch of dry, yeast notes and crusty brown bread. I get a light hint of alcohol at one point, but it is fully passing, and even looking for it, I’m not able to find it again.
The flavor, perhaps, is not quite the sum of the aroma, being a bit too soy-like, almost peanut-pecan-like but otherwise full of rich chocolate, gritty, unfiltered wheat and roasted notes adding a balancing element, with bananas foster, caramelized sugars and tons of raisin, prune and light plum astringency. Extremely low carbonation, but it works perfectly, giving a sweet sherry like mouthfeel, very soothing and nearly-syrupy. The wheat works wonders on the palate, as always, in concert with the chocolate and caramel and even being balanced by light hints of earthy roast. No alcohol whatsoever, in the flavor, even after fully warming and breathing.
The beer is immensely dark, with a soy sauce-like appearance, quite viscous and with very low carbonation, not enough to form a head, but gives a small, deep tan ring of bubbles, and thick legs/residue on the glass. A small head can be coaxed, however, upon swirling. Unfiltered and nearly opaque.
The nose opens up with strong, warming, sweet and rich molasses, soy, port and the signature weizen yeast fruit (bananas, apples) and of course some bubblegum, though it’s more a cotton candy sweetness, adding a feathery-light, lively note to the otherwise seriously intense sipper. Maple, toffee, and just huge, sweet prunes and rich, amplified caramel. Very strong, and one that you can sit and sniff for hours. If there are flaws in the beer, I find none in the aroma. Even a touch of dry, yeast notes and crusty brown bread. I get a light hint of alcohol at one point, but it is fully passing, and even looking for it, I’m not able to find it again.
The flavor, perhaps, is not quite the sum of the aroma, being a bit too soy-like, almost peanut-pecan-like but otherwise full of rich chocolate, gritty, unfiltered wheat and roasted notes adding a balancing element, with bananas foster, caramelized sugars and tons of raisin, prune and light plum astringency. Extremely low carbonation, but it works perfectly, giving a sweet sherry like mouthfeel, very soothing and nearly-syrupy. The wheat works wonders on the palate, as always, in concert with the chocolate and caramel and even being balanced by light hints of earthy roast. No alcohol whatsoever, in the flavor, even after fully warming and breathing.
Tried
from Bottle
on 18 Mar 2006
at 15:33