Bristol Skull & Bones Cuvee

Sampled at the Festival of Wood and Barrel Aged Beer at Goose Island, Nov.11, 2005. Dark brown with no head. Classic horseblanket and barnyard in aroma, with sour cherries. Classic flemmish sour with vinegar and griotte cherries in mouth. Very nice and smooth, rich bodied. A nice discovery.

Funky yeastiness...sour rancid medicinal dark cherries...oaky smokiness...old gym bag stink..What’s not to like?

Draught, sampled at the 2005 Festival of Barrel Aged Beers, Chicago: Deep, muddy brown with orange-gold highlights and a disappearing taupe head. Musty, dark sour cherry aroma with funky, yeasty vanilla notes. Lingering Sweet-Tarts and hop bitterness…juicy, sharp and sour. Tingling & at the same time smooth palate. Liquid black cherry skin essence, mouth watering & simply fantastic.

The body of this ale is a thick, purplish brown with a head that... Wait, I had no head on mine! The aroma wasvery sour dark cherries, kind of funky with wet hay and woody characteristics. Thick and creamy, it delivered a face-puckering sourness, tart with cherries and spices. The finish was oddly bitter-sweet-sour. I like.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eventID=2795>The Third Annual Festival of Barrel-Aged Beers, Chicago, IL 11/12/2005<font size=-1>

3rd FoBAB. Super dark brownred with a very small, tan head. Cherries, cinnamon, caramel, hay, horseblanket, red grapes, oak, light tobacco, strong tannics and noticable acidic character. A fairly thin body, due to the lack of carbonation. Tart, fruity flavors dominate with complex, barnyardy delightfulness throughout. Some light sweetness followed by strong acidity. Tremendous Brett character as well. A solid beer, but probably not quite as outstanding as it could have been. It seems a bit more malt to carry the acidity would have been nice. Nonetheless, a tasty beer.