 FlacoAlto (2142), Tucson, Arizona, USA
May 16, 2008
Batch 2; Sampled May 2008
I knew this might be a gusher and I still lost a couple ounces to my counter and sing. A soft pour still produces four-fingers of head in my glass plus another two fingers above the rim. The head is a tight, creamed-chocolate, tan color and the beer is a dark-chocolate brown / black color that is quite opaque even when held up to the light. As I pour this brew a nice wine-influenced aroma wafts to my nose. A deeper inspection yields ample Brettanomyces influence with notes of sweat, musty horse-blanket notes, butyric acid and a sharp-yet-light tartness. Underneath the more dominant funkiness is are some porter notes of toasted grain, lightly roasted coffee beans and if you smell the beer in a sideways sort of fashion (figuratively of course) there is a substantial, bright berry like wine character, a touch of jam and some leather and tobacco notes to this beer. The smoked malt aromatics have almost completely been subsumed by the other aromas, but there is perhaps a touch of saltiness here that could be attributed to it.
Lightly sweet tasting up front with a middle that has a nice berry-like wine character to it that just barely makes its presence known. A lot of the carbonation was lost during the initial gushing and in the 5+ minutes it has sat in my glass, it is still well carbonated though and this combines with a fairly light body to make this pretty easy drinking. The funk is a bit more muted in the flavor than in the aroma, but the Brett influence definitely comes out in the finish; musty, light notes of phenolic soaked cotton balls, butyric acid notes, some acidity that accentuates the wine character and a woody mushroom note. This finishes with a mix of fruit-driven wine flavors, and some porter flavors of toasted grain, roasted malts, toasted bread-like flavors and a touch of burnt grain bitterness. The actual oak contribution here is soft; there is some spicy oak character towards the finish, and a touch of tannic character seems to influence the texture, but it remains a supporting cast member here, which I quite like.
My second pour still has an incredible level of carbonation, this makes me realize how velvety the texture of this beer really is. Despite being very well carbonated the beer feels quite smooth and velvet-like all while foaming up as it crosses the tongue; quite an interesting textural experience that I don’t believe I have ever experienced in a beer before. I can’t taste any smokiness in this brew at all & I wonder if he left the smoke malt out of this brew completely.
This is by far my favorite of the from the oak beers so far. This doesn’t have any heavy-handed hard liquor competing with the funkiness that I really found jarring in the other two versions of this I have had. Instead the wine barrel influence works quite well with both the Brettanomyces and the base porter. I really like the fruit notes that the wine barrel aging have added to this beer, it is nothing heavy, but most certainly a welcome addition to up the complexity of this brew. Sans the slight wine influence, this is exactly as I would imagine an old, pre 1900s, unblended, stale porter would have been like (sans the modern malt formulation of course). This is just a great marriage of funkiness & barrel influence with porter. If it wasn’t so explosive already I would love to age some more of this. I definitely came into this with a bit of skepticism, but this has delivered and I am quite happy with this brew; this makes me really want to try the Port-Barrel version.
MI2CA (1099), Noblesville, Indiana, USA
Sep 27, 2008 Bottle shared at 2008 Indy Microbrewers Fest - Aroma or red wine, dark malts, oak and sour yeast goodness. I could keep my nose in the glass all day. Pours dark brown with a nice bubbly brown head. Never had the base beer, but I think it’s the barrel I’m in love with. Flavor matches aroma and that’s a good thing. Palate is creamy with a dry tart finish. Awesome brew.
beerbuzzmontreal (2740), Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Sep 27, 2008 Pours a dark brown color with a thin light brown head. The aroma has wood, brettanomyces, sourness, some sweetness and a distant wine quality. The flavor is solid, wood, brettanomyces, sourness and yeast blend well together. The body is medium with a vinous texture and gentle carbonation. As usual, Captain Lawrence delivers a very good product.
juiceisloose (336), Orlando, Florida, USA
Sep 26, 2008 Courtesy Cheeseman. Batch 2 bottle. This one gushed out a bit, and poured a deep mahogany color that is almost black with a thick, foamy tan head that shows good retention. Thick sheets of lacing are left behind. The aroma is spectacular on this one with vinous red wine, oak, roasted chocolate and caramel, and funky brett blended together. The flavors follows with more of the vinous red wine flavor blended with the roasted and dark chocolate and burnt oak on the back end. Medium-full bodied with subtle carbonation and a slightly tart mouthfeel. The finish is long and dry with some chocolate covered fruit left behind. This is a very well crafted brew and a pleasure to try. I hope I get to try this one again, awesome stuff. Thanks again Dan.
hopscotch (4577), Vero Beach, Florida, USA
Sep 19, 2008 Updated: Sep 30, 2008Bottle... Post RBSG ’08 O-Town/Vero Beach Throwdown Chapter 8... This beer rocks!... Pitch black with a small, creamy, off-white head. The nose provides chocolate, black cherries and lactic acid. Full-bodied with a silky mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Chocolaty and tangy. Lengthy, tart, dry finish. Big time thanks to TheCheeseMan for giving me the chance to finally try this excellent, world class brew!
GAManiac (338), Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Sep 15, 2008 750mL bottle, batch 2, courtesy of beerbill. Sure enough, we’ve got a gusher! Pours dark, dark brown (and full of foam) out of the bottle before settling in to a black in the glass with a huge tan head that lingers forever and leaves blankets of lacing.
The red wine and slight funk hit me from across the room as it gushed out. As it settled down, the aromas of the porter, with its roasted malts and dark chocolate, came out a lot more.
The initial sour red grape taste dominates everything else. There are faint hints of the porter in the background and a bit of roasted coffee and chocolate in the finish.
The mouthfeel is medium bodied and uber-carbonated which leaves the palate tingling with the sour red grape taste.
This is extremely complex and tasty brew, though I wish the porter came out a tad more in the taste. Nonetheless, original and enjoyable.
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