wunderbier (1272), Tampere, Finland
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Jul 25, 2006 75 cL bottle (2005ish), Bordeaux glass. Deep, hazy and brassy-orange body is covered by a thick and creamy off-white head. The aroma is redolent of spicy and yeasty esters common to my experience with Fantôme...dough and cilantro harmonize along with a light note of horse blanket, all carried on a crisp pils malt base. A cloud of grassy, floral hops extend over everything. And of the two special ingredients? Wonderfully integrated...a pure ’red’ chili hotness, slightly nose-tingling in its pungency accents the darkness of soft cocoa powder in a manner reminiscent of a smoky Mexican molé sauce. Forward in the flavor are sweet pils malt along with a gentle chili burn and a light acidity. Mid-palate releases a gentle funk and tame sourness, quickly displaced by the long finish in which a soft grassy bitterness defers to a drying cocoa aftertaste with a warming chili sensation. The chili and cocoa really work well together in this beer (though perhaps more cocoa, less chili would have been okay) but the front-end is really lacking. Everything interesting seems to happen mid-palate or later (especially the aftertaste). The texture is silky smooth and the next sip always seems to relieve the chili burn from the last one. Carbonation is, as expected, vigorous and the significantly chewy for a saison, though not a detriment in this case. Seriously, this would be diabolical with real, earthy Mexican dishes.
blankboy (3330), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 14/20 | Feb 8, 2010 Bottle [750ml] shared with HogTownHarry, garthicus, GregClow, jerc & mabel -- c/o HogTownHarry. Pours a cloudy copper with little to no head. Aroma’s funky along with tart fruit and a hint of spices. Flavour’s also funky along with tart fruit and spices -- it’s almost refreshing. Medium bodied. This is so easy to drink -- delicious! (I got no chocolate though -- weird) MesandSim (6168), London, Greater London, England
| 3.5 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 15/20 | Jan 17, 2010 A Mes rate. Bottle at Chris O’s Night of the Gaylords. Murky orange gold with a good off white head. Erm... fruity hops and erm... chocolate? Where? Really good hops, lemon acidity, faint sourness and generally clean and drinkable. Nice, but there’s no chocolate. Ok maybe a very very very faint hint but not enough to call it a chocolate beer. jredmond (1165), New Jersey, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 17/20 | Jan 16, 2010 Bottle split with Andrew and Ryan. Pours a bright, hazy orange with nice sediment. Aroma is spicy ester and fruit. Taste is really delicious, spice, fruit, and cocoa - maybe some pepper. Pwn3d (1174), Manhattan, New York, USA
| 4.1 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 5/5 | 8/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Jan 16, 2010 Bottle courtesy of jredmond. Sour and a tart true to the style. Pour is deep hazed orange with collective white head. Didn’t pick up on much cocoa but the mouth is left with slight tingling from the peppers harrisoni (7016), Ashford, Kent, England
| 3.3 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 3/5 | 13/20 | Jan 13, 2010 Bottle at Chriso Gaylord tasting 09. Cloudy golden brown colour with disappearing off white head. Lemony, but odd aroma. It’s like a saison, not any choc. Fine ok saison. garthicus (1399), Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 6/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 16/20 | Jan 2, 2010 Thanks to HogTownHarry. Appearance: Murky, dirty filthy brown, lots of white smegma like flecks. Aroma: Nice sourness, lemon, quite funky with that ’salty’ smell I can never correctly describe. Flavour: Funky and sour, creamy too! Chocolate, caramel, lovely, the mouthfeel transforms from sour to malt during the finish. Very nice. HonkeyBra (1432), Lemont, Illinois, USA
| 3.8 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 8/10 | 4/5 | 8/10 | 3/5 | 15/20 | Dec 22, 2009 Bottle as an xmas gift. opaque orange pour with white head that settles atop. Aroma is yeasty and funky with some underlying spice. Flavor has strong yeast, some sweaty funk, and a light pepper burn. Notes of sourdough, citrus, lemongrass. Some brett too. Really nice mouthfeel. Finishes with a bit of chili pepper. douglas88 (1753), Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
| 3.6 | Aroma | Appearance | Flavor | Palate | Overall | | 7/10 | 3/5 | 7/10 | 4/5 | 15/20 | Dec 12, 2009 750 ml bottle at the big holiday tasting in SLC- thanks to someone. Pours a cloudy amber with a large white head. A funky brett nose, spices and straw. A somewhat tart funky flavor, no chocolate noticed, somewhat bitter hops. Orange peel. Interesting and odd.
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