Flossmoor Station Cranky Nate

Brewed by Flossmoor Station Restaurant & Brewery
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Flossmoor, Illinois USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Draft on tap at the Flossmoor 15th Anniversary Party (Flossmoor, IL). Been waiting for this one for a looooong time. Van Wyk unblended beer. Pours a nice murky brownish pour, carmelized brown, with some amber edges, darker and murky. Aromas are some cherries, peaches, and white wine. Touches of barrel, wet oak, vanilla. Some faint touches of white grape, prickly pear shows up a bit, with some touches of light vinegar, good kick of lactic acid comes into the nose. A touch of watermelon, the malt base is a touch bready, muddled down with that watermelon and mellow sweetness really jumping out, good barrel, white wine, some lemons, very tannic, perhaps in the barrel a bit long. Initial is lighter end of medium bodied, with a good kick of mellow prickly pear and watermelon funk, decent touches of lactic acid, barrel tannins, white wine, touches of vinegar. Lots of oak, lingering sourness and fruit on the palate, with touches of butter, but pleasant. Touches of lingering lactic, some touches of yogurt. Finish sticks, decent sourness, light cheesiness and funky straw, dry grass. Really nice beer here, great aroma, solid flavors and palatability. Appearance suffers a touch. I’m a big fan. An honor to try an unblended Van Wyk sour near 2 years. Sour grows in a wave, vinegar and lactic, touches of white wine. Up front the fruit is moderate, but falls out into the finish. Very nice, best one put out so far.

At the brewery for pre-DLD party under the "Prickly Pear" name. Looks like this beer is hot and cold and I caught it on a cold night. My notes just say straight acetone. Just a sip was enough for me. This was pretty harsh for me.

ugg. not good. medicinal bandaid bomb. boiled vinegar. some cooked bitter asparagus. something seems to have went terribly wrong over the course of the last year here. many great rates from a year ago. maybe some kind of pee infection.

Draft at the pre-Dark Lord Day event, 2012. Labeled "Prickly Pear". Pours a hazy plum-amber color with a small off-white head. This is absolutely the most sour beer I’ve had in a long, long time. Notes of oak, vanilla, and grapes are utterly destroyed by the level of sourness in here. I’m not sure what happened. It’s got initial promise in the nose, but can’t be consumed for more than a sip.

draft, Pours hazed ruby white head, nose of brown sugar, tart cherry, maple syrup, flavors brown sugar, earthy acidic, vinegar finish, red wine,

Draft. Sampled at GTMW. Pours a darker caramel color with a light wispy tan head. Really nice aroma with notes of watermelon which I am thinking is the prickly pear as I am not too sure what prickly pear smells like, fruity, some acetic sourness. Medium mouthfeel. The first thing I notice is that this has a nice maltiness to it that stands up to the sourness. Light caramel, fruity, the sourness builds quite nicely, and has a slight bitterness in the end. Overall, pretty enjoyable and turned out to be one of my favorite beers at GTMW.

Sampled at GTMW 11 as Prickly Pear. Dark red brown with a beige head. Fruity sour earthy leathery fruits. Tart fruits cherries some what acidic in the throat. Good fruit flavors but a bit acidic. Nice stuff. 8/4/8/4/15

On tap at GTMW - Pours ruby red with a little tan head. Smells of sweet toffee, light sour cherry, and a bit of funk. Taste is sweet bread and yeasty funk with more cherries and some citrus rind. Nice carbonation, slick.

On tap at GTMW (2011)

Now this is what a wine barrel should do to a beer. The combination of aging and inherit tartness blend into a perfect harmony that makes my mouth water just thinking about it again. Candied pears, malt, and white wine ease from the reddish brown base across the tongue and onto the palate. Without being ultrasour it leaves its calling card in an excellent finish. I hope there is more of this out there for future festivals.

Tap at GTMW 2011. This was the highlight of my entire day. I wish I had more than one glass of this murky amber brown bodied beer. It didn’t really look that great, but it excelled with aroma and flavor. White wine laden sour beer with definite vanilla and prickly pear cactus on the finish. The sweetness and flavors of the cactus really added a dimension I’ve never had in a sour beer. The palate was super sour and acidic. Nearing rip your face off sourness. I liked it a lot.

Sampled on draft at GTMW 2011. Pours a dark amber color with a medium sized frothy tan head. Good head retention and lacing. Aroma of syrupy fruits, citrus, tropical and earthy notes. Very tart taste with citrus, cactus and earthy notes. Medium bodied. Very nice.