Bluegrass Mephistopheles Metamorphosis

Date: 04/28/2005
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewpub

crystal clear dark yelllow, scant head, slightly fumey candy sweet aroma with nice esters, thick body, lots of candy sweetness balanced out by light spices, just a hint of an earthy quality the stays too hidden to identify
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Date: 04/28/2006
Mode: bottle

skunked

Aroma: 8/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 5/10; Palate: 5/10; Overall: 10/20
Rating: 2.9/5.0
Score: *4
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The score was calculated based upon the notes and an old scoring system.

Clear straw body topped by minimal white head. Aroma is moderately sweet, herbal, orange, banana. Taste is moderately sweet, strong herbal, orange, light banana, bubblegum. Light alcohol burn in the finish, but pretty smooth considering the ABV. Watery medium-full body with some stickiness. Not as dry as expected for the style but still an enjoyable beer.

Bottle. Poured a deeper golden / orange color with an averaged sized white head. Aromas of fruits (apples / bananas), spices, and some citrus. Tastes of fruits, spices, citrus and a little bready. Some alcohol in the finish (but I wouldn’t have guessed 11%).

Bottle... Backus’s Backdoor Bash ‘08... Cloudy golden ale with a small, fat bubbled, white head. The aroma is fruity and yeasty, presenting notes of bread, peach and apricot. Full-bodied and mega creamy with nearly expired carbonation. The flavor is very well-balanced; sweet and fruity, but also generously hopped. Lengthy bitter finish that leaves a creamy film in the mouth.

(750ml bottle) Pours a hazy vastly particulate golden orange body with a moderate off-white head. Aroma of orange, coriander, and grass. Flavor of malt, spicy yeast, and hops.

Pours an effervescent clear golden with a nicely-lacing white head. Slightly skunked Belgian yeasty and spicy aroma has some fruity esters. Body starts with some sweet sugary malt quickly turning more peppery and spiced with lots of alcohol. A nice effort, but shouldn’t be put in green bottles and needs more balance and finesse.

(draught) Very clear gold to orange; slim rim for head. Some malt, some grassy hops, some cheese and a touch of coriandre in the nose. Taste comes in bitter with hops, roasted malts and lots of orangezest. Well-filled, plenty of malts for beefing it up. I have some trouble making out the style. But being hoppy, malty and well-balanced enough, why complain?

My Bottom Line:
Fat honeyed cereals and fruity edges end up in shallow wooden hop bitterness in this liquorous Tripel.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A ring of foam circles the hazy orange blond.
-This is obviously underattenuated for my tastes in the style.
-Alcohol warmth make the mouthfeel feel even heavier.
-This remains a pleasant sipper, but it is far from standing out in its category.

Bottle.