Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Old Ale from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery 19 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8
Draught at EBF on 2/10/07
I think this beer epitomizes what I like in a beer. For as much sour/bacterial/barrel-aged craziness as I appreciate, I think this is every bit as good. I think Paul (dickinsonbeer) said it best when he had a sip of mine and said, "It’s ok, kind of boring." I couldn’t agree more. The sweetness level is balanced leading to no remarkable dryness or sweetness (tends slightly sweet) and even the malt profile itself is balanced between light and dark. It’s got a deep, faded brass color with strong auburn-copper hues. It’s not a dark beer, it’s not a light beer. I absolutely love how it has a noticeable chocolate flavor, yet it’s not a dark brown beer. The malt is moderately complex, with raisins, chocolate, caramel and some buttercream flavors all being quite soothing. Minor bitterness from the hops, with just a reserved, earthy, herbal flavor. Carbonation is moderate to low and the beer is unfiltered/unpasteurized. Very light fruitiness, I assume from the yeast lends a gentle dryness/acidity on the end. Boring for sure, as in nothing jumps out at you. But everything works in perfect harmony, creating a balanced, flavorful beer. I doubt you could find a bad thing to say about this beer if you drank a whole barrel. Paul is doing some fantastic, authentic stuff up in Burlington, I really miss this place.
notalush (7362) reviewed Fools Gold from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery 19 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
On tap at Spuyten Duyvil - nice clear straw color out of the tap - wonderfully full aroma, with perfume-like floral and hop notes, bright fruity esters (pear,strawberry), and some belgian yeast and candi sugar - after the aroma, the flavor is disappointing - overly sweet, with a sugar-covered fruits kind of flavor, a mellow spiciness - finishes a little on the thin side - decent, but I wouldn’t drink it again.
Lubiere (24605) reviewed Fools Gold from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery 19 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5
Golden ale with a thick creamy white head. Light berry notes, strawberries to be exact, and not much else. Rather sweet cloying malt with loads of strawberries, some nutty notes. Again, a oily mouthfeel, with butttery overtones. On tap at BCTC 2006.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Our Brown Ale from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery 20 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
Draugh half-pint at the brewpub on 3/12/06 with Muzzlehatch
Clear mahogany-to-dark-oak brown with a medium-sized amount of sandy-beige head that recedes quickly to cover but is retained there, providing no lacing.
The nose is full of mild brown malts, evoking light oily wood, plenty of walnuts, pecans, mild chocolate and some mildly spicy hops. Mild seems to be the key here, but yet the more it warms, the spiciness seems to grow, outlasting any crusty or bready malts that might keep it down. A touch of vanilla or maple butter as well. Not fruity, surprisingly.
The flavor is dry and woody at first, with bits of caramelized pecans, soft vanilla sharpness and waning chocolatey, with very little sign of the hop spiciness seen in the nose. It creates a moderately sweet effect overall, which is fairly balanced with the dry, cola/rootbeer-like ending, but an oily-sticky texture and surprisingly low carbonation are at odds with the session quality of the beer.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Vienna Lager from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery 20 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Draught pint at the brewery with Muzzlehatch on 3/12/06.
Clear, burnished brass body with some cookie-graham cracker tones, bit of old cream yellow. Very small amount of off-white head that is not long retained, forming a ring on the edge, with no lacing. Large bubbles rest throughout the liquid.
It’s funny how after having two similar gravity German beers, brewed around the same time here (Helles, Spalter Alt), that this one comes out with much less heavy yeast, more bright hop and yeast character and just more refreshing, as the other two should have been. The nose right away divulges a glorious, intricate web of lightly sticky caramel, dry, crumbly coffee-cake, perfectly pitted against each other, with a triumphant noble hop spiciness, combined with a crisp lager yeast, steadily growing to a climax on the finish of an almost perfumy, tingling note, with light yeast. All the while a wise, yet never too sweet woody-caramel character sits patiently behind. I didn’t find as much caramel as Barry, but all the same, I found the hop and yeast qualities to be lively, not overdone and bright.
Flavor begins with a dry, husky vienna malt, touches of roots and coffee, but adding dry, spicy hops and old, tanninless wood notes before it gets too watery (fair amount of water, though as it should be for this session style). At first, while cold/chilled, the sweetness from the munich or cara malts is held well in check, perfectly balancing the beer, while the yeast remains quite apparent, but crisp and lively. Carbonation is rather zippy at first, but carries the hoppiness and yeast across the palate and helps deliver the zesty finish, almost woody/herbal-like, though retaining the dry caramel. As Barry says, with warmth and breath, the beer begins to get a bit too sluggish with sweetly-sour malts and the yeast begins to build up (though nowhere near the alt or helles level). Watery texture, lively carbonation, no alcohol. It’s always enjoyable to find a beer that you can just drink and appreciate chilled, being refreshed, without having to stare at it for a half hour while it warms up. My score reflects the flavor/palate while it is at a chilled temperature.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Draught pint at the brewery with Muzzlehatch on 3/11/06
Deep ruddy-amber with deeper chocolate brown notes, approximately transluscent with a small bit of cream-yellow head atop, fading eventually to ring, little to no lacing.
Heavy toffee and buttercream rises up to meet me, with a strong dose of yeast and plenty of bready spicing from the various German brown malts used, and noble hops. Bready again, with a choco-caramel note that seems to get drowned out in the yeast on the end.
Flavor shows light soy-toffee, earthy, brown bread beginning to build on the palate, with a very deep, but yet very resigned roastiness. Chewy, chocolate and caramel fight threw heavy yeastiness, coupled with spicy noble hops, but it all comes out too heavy. The beginning, with the hint of roast and light chocolate flare really hints at potential, but the beer seems to be too vinous and bready, overloading the palate with heavy, thick flavors as did the Alt. Texture is thick and chewy again, with some residual sugary grit, no alcohol apparent, though a touch of warmth on the end. Carbonation is moderate.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Das Spalter Alt from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery 20 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 4 | Overall - 5.5
Draught pint at the brewery with Muzzlehatch on 3/11/06. Deep copper-beige color, clear, but not strikingly so, with a gentle effervescence rising in the liquid and a wispy bunch of beige head that is small and fairly lasting. Some very light strawberry-blonde notes. Looks like an alt to me.
The nose is HEAVILY yeasty, HEAVILY bready, plenty of sourdough/munich malt influence, with a sticky, yet dry caramunich sugariness, soft, flowery spalt hops that are just lightly green and herbal, but also a little soapy and oily, as if they used a ton of them for bitterness. Brassy, mineral/metal notes round out the nose, that is overly dry and biting.
The flavor, quite possibly, takes it a step further, going overboard with the dry breadiness. Heavily drying and lightly acidic, with too much German yeast that really dominates the flavor. Hops are very one-dimensional, just rather heathery, minimally spicy and still providing light soapiness. Caramel stickiness is notable in texture, but it’s a sourish, very dry flavor, almost crystal-malt like in it’s vapidness. Farily full of water and drinkable in that sense (though not thin), but just too much bready, yeasty, soapy, grainy buildup on the palate. Carbonation seems appropriate, but it has no effect on clearing the aforementioned palate-deadening characteristics. No alcohol noted.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
2006 draught at EBF ’06 on 2/11/06. Thick looking, goldenrod to bright pencil-yellow, with a foamy white head, surprisingly poorly retained, though it does leave a filmy lace behind. Fair amount of haziness with only bits of bubbles here and there. The nose comes alive with plenty of rich honey and dough. Light vanilla icing and hints of lemon with a touch of drying, nettle-like herbal qualities. Sweet gale and rosemary, with yarrow and juniper as Barry says. Stuff like that. However, the drying note is only minimally felt as this stuff is powerfully malty, with a bit of candied peach and apricot. The flavor confirms the sweetness from the aroma, with a thickening, nearly syrupy mouthfeel (were it not for the pressurized C02, this stuff would be too thick and syrupy, as the cask sample Barry had). Paul (the brewer) told me that he went light on the herbs, only adding a few to the boil and had intended to add a tincture of various mixed herbs to the cask, a sort of dry-hopping of herbs (though a tincture is a liquid, so not really). Anyways, he didnt do that, and hence we have a very malty little gruit. But with the carbonation mitigating the syrupiness, I found the flavors to be absolutely interesting. Light almond skins, thyme, juniper and plenty more vanilla icing and light vanilla extract-like notes. Some fruity cherries and yellow raisins finish things off. Tomme Arthur, at the next booth over, was duly impressed. Tremendously well-done in that it is extremely balanced and only moderately spiced. Too many gruits succumb to a heavy, astringent at times, fatiguing at times, spice/herb level. This one was a malt beverage first, with just light spices added for balance. Very similar to Kuhnhenn’s Gruit, though even maltier than that one, with less herbal notes. No alcohol apparency, thinning, wateriness.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 5.5
Draught pint at the brewpub, with Muzzlehatch on 11/5/05. Dark black-brown body is nearly opaque, though settles out transluscent with a strong magenta tinge on the edges and a short-lived tan colored head. Aroma of roast, light coffee and bits of fruits (cherries, oranges, berries). A hint of creamy vanilla attempts to assert itself, but is scared off by the thick roast reprise on the end. The flavor begins with a chewy chocolate (dark) and roasted malt flavor that initially looks promising. But as this flavor recedes, a dry, almost chalky blandness begins to creep in and, simultaneously, the body thins out, and a touch of wateriness is had. Sharp carbonation seems to break up any fluidity in the mouthfeel and it just continues to stay too dry and roasty with no return appearance from the sweet chocolate malt or vanilla. Yeast apparency is low in the flavor, with a passing touch of dark fruits. Too heavy on the roast, needs more body. Still, a disappointment from this brewer is by no means a poorly done beer. No doubt the next batch will work out better.
Clarkvv (16760) reviewed Fallbock from Zero Gravity Craft Brewery 20 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Draught pint at the brewpub, 11/5/2005 with Muzzlehatch. Minimally filtered, brassy-orange with some strong beige-to-pencil-yellow hues and a very small, rather poorly retained off-white to beige colored head. Aroma shows dry toffee and caramel with tons of lager yeast. Nice bockiness, with some caramel corn notes and a touch of light, dry, yellow fruits. Strong, but mostly just sweet caramel malts and lager yeast. Flavor begins with plenty of sticky, sweet caramel and toffee, followed by some lightly drying, yeast notes, moderately acidic, lightly sour toasted grains/munich malts and a hint of soft, grassy hops. Plenty more yeast, which dosent quite balance the sticky caramel. The complexity is lacking, which creates some fatigue on the palate, when drinking a whole pint. The carbonation is low to moderate and the mouthfeel is sticky, with a touch of bready dryness on the texture as it warms. Well-concealed alcohol and low hops, with plenty of yeast and sweetness. It’s well-done to style and maybe batch two will yield a bit more complexity/balance.