Ithaca Excelsior! Brute

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Ithaca, New York USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Bottle served in a trappist glass. Hazy pale gold with a humongous head. The nose exhibits a strong, clean sourness with notes of wood, stone fruit, white wine, The taste includes all of the same notes as the smell along with a touch of cheese and lemon. Strong stinging carbonation and an intense sour finish that seems to last forever. One hell of a tasty beer.

Hazy blonde. Slightly leathery champagne-like aroma. Slightly tart, with smooth pale malts. Fresh and complex with some lime accents. Good stuff.

Bottle at Damico’s Excelsior, Pours a cloudy golden straw color , aroma of brett, barnyard funk &fresh acetic acid. first sip is smooth with flavors of barley and sour mild vinegar. finish clear znd crisp.

5 year old bottle shared by Skinnyguy! Champagne yellow pour and effervescence with nice dry white grape aroma. Flavor is a little malt, nice tart mild lemon, more white grapes and sparkling on the tongue. Really nice, thanks for sharing another bottle of this with me!

One of my favorite wild’s. Finally decided to break down and write a review. Thanks to whoever brought this bottle to Imminent Liquidation II A - Pours slightly hazy golden yellow with a nice one finger tall white head leaving small stringy lace down the glass. S - Smells of lemons, granny smith apples, bready yeast, oak, some sweetness and a good amount of lactic sourness. Not as funky as others in the style, but that isn’t a bad thing. T - Starts off with a nice jolt of citric fruit tartness quickly being enveloped by the lactic sourness and hints of chewy grain, green apple and plenty of dry oak tannins. The dryness continues through the finish. Could use a tiny bit more funk but thats just me. M - Tart, dry feel with a spritzy feel from the moderately high carbonation. The champagne yeast really works well for this one and it isn’t overly sour like others in the style. O - Easily one of the best wild’s out there. If you are looking to get into the world of sour beers this is a good starting point. It isn’t overly sour and it is easy to drink. Awesome stuff for sure.

Second time I’ve had this beer. Recent vintage. Smells like funky and smarties. Really clean taste and sourness that just palates perfectly. I could drink this stuff all day. Not overly sour either. Not sure if that would increase with time though. Definitely worth the hunt to try once.

Aroma of apricot, funk, citrus, and barnyard. Pours Orange and hazy with no head. Tastes sweet and bitter of apricot, floral and a great wheaty funk. Great puckered but very drinkable.

Overall this beer is not balanced, too much Brett makes a big lemon taste. This beer could be more complex. ---Rated via Beer Buddy for iPhone

From notes. First reviewed 2/14/2011. Poured from a 750 mL bottle into a pint glass. Brute pours a bright electric yellow, sort of a strange color with a beer. Slight haze in the center, with tons of carbonation supporting a large, foamy head. Bubbles on the side and bottom of the glass rise up, giving the head great retention. Lots of lace on the sides of the glass. Green apple, white grape, pear, barnyard funk, a little vanilla, and some oak all contribute to a delicate and elegant tart aroma. The taste is oaky and sour. Some bretty funk turns sour, but it is not overwhelming. Tart green apples, white grapes, and a bit of pear. Woody oak helps to tie everything together. Very balanced. Smooth and creamy at the same time. Crisp, dry, and medium bodied. The acidity creates a puckering sensation in my lower cheeks. At this stage in my sour drinking career, balance is something I look kindly upon, and Brute demonstrates an extremely good balance. I will go after this again.

Shared with friends, Hazy gold hue shines in the glass capped by a silkey white foam head with good retention. Nice funky aroma, lemon zest, perhaps apple too. Mild and enjoyable tartiness balance slight biscuit. All sorts of fruit enhance the taste. Smooth and bubbling mouth. Quite an enjoyable concoction. Rated via BeerBuddy

Appearance- Corked with a yellow synthetic cork. A very golden orange/yellow. The color reminds me of a fall sunset or the color of orange juice. In the glass it’s cloudy and hazy. Head is stark white, that falls very quickly leaving behind minimal lacing. Not as much carbonation as I expected. With all the champagne yeast and “sparkling” build up I thought the carb was quite low. Aroma- As soon as I opened the bottled and started pouring the first scent I got was corn. The corn smell quickly went away and I didn’t notice it during the tasting. During the tasting the first aromas I pick up are a lemon zest, barnyard funk and some peach. Secondary aromas: pineapple and a ‘sweet’ caramel funk. Taste- A citrusy sour acid bite. Brett quickly follows with a earthy white wine finish. A light ‘funk’ in the end. Overall- I was really excited to get this beer. It was never one that I actively sought out, but was aware of. When the opportunity came up to buy a bottle I was all over it! But honestly I am a bit let down. Something I don’t want to get in the habit of doing is comparing to other beers in my reviews, but this one was an average to a bit above average “American Wild” to me. It wasn’t as tart or sour for my liking. Don’t get me wrong, it’s sour but it’s not the acidic sour that I enjoy.