Ithaca Excelsior! Brute

Formerly brewed at Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Ithaca, New York USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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A: pours a nice opaque bright yellow. huge white head. outstanding retention and lacing. S: huge aroma of brett. massive sour notes. tons of citrus. T: like sex in a glass for me. great sours and brett flavors. an amazing wild ale. great pale malt flavors with a ton of sour citrus. lemons. M: mild body. huge carbonation level. nice tart mouthfeel. very clean and crisp.

Bottle: Poured a gold color with a nice head. The aroma was funky citrus barnyard. The flavor was orange, lemon, funky yeast, sour and spice. This is a very drinkable sour, one my wife actually enjoyed as well. Wish I had more of this one!

750 ml bottle batch 018. Pours a hazy bright pale orange with a big fluffy white head. Aroma is super tart and sharp plenty of sour candy, lemon zest and juicy tart citrus. Perfect light and zesty sharp note. Flavor starts with lots of lemon, juicy and zesty again, tart brett character. Mouth puckering through the finish. Just a touch of bitterness and grain in a very smooth finish. Medium body and a very sharp and spritzy carbonation. Excellent beer!

Not a lot of brett, but a really nice tartness that resembles a Berliner Weisse in its subtlety and effervescent nature. Lemony, slightly grainy, cereal perhaps, really lively carbonation, good at first but a bit tiresome as I get down to 12 oz or more consumed. Still, this is a freaking good beer and the kind of sour I can drink by the gallon.

Split with Maddog. I always have a soft spot in my heart for sours. And it all started with Rodenbach Grand Cru. Exquisite aromas of tartness and mustiness, flavors that are amazingly full of tartness, sourness, and musty funkiness rule the day with this surpising beer. This is very pale and hazy, an extremely refreshing sour, not as malty as many. More along the lines of RR Sanctification than a Rodenbach. Very dry along with the tartness, not just sour. This one stands up to many Belgian and domestic sours that I have enjoyed in recent years. A true gem from a brewery that I have never enjoyed before.

Tasted on 8/10/11 from a capped and "corked" (synthetic) 750mL bottle obtained in a trade, batch E!018. Pours clear bright golden orange with a thick white head that slowly recedes to spotty lace with a decent collar of lace, leaving just light hints of residue along the inside of the glass. The nose is sour, funky, and earthy, with lemon acidity, forest floor, barnyard funk, and lightly nutty vanilla oak. The flavor is more funky than sour with forest floor and barnyard funk, but the sour lemon acidic notes are still present with some white wine vinegar, light malt, and the same lightly nutty vanilla oak from the nose. The body is medium with nearly sparkling carbonation and a long sour and tart lemon and vinegar with some oaky vanilla finish.

Hazy yellow. Funky aroma. Delicious sour flavor, juicy, fruity. Superb. It’s so encouraging to see breweries all over the place experimenting with these kinds of beers, with some like Ithaca succeeding fantastically.

Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber gold with a decent foamy head that subsides to a thin white film.

Aroma: Acidic funkiness, barnyard and lemon.

Taste: Tart lemon, wood tannins, faint spicy bitterness. White wine, wheaty malt and tons of brett. The kind of brett I appreciate, not the industrial metallic kind I dislike.

Mouthfeel: Full bodied with lively carbonation.

Overall: Very well done, complex, sour, tart and lively. I feel very fortunate to have tried this.

Batch 010 from 2008. Pours beautiful gold with gigantic frothy white head that lingers. Champagne like effervescence lasts for many many mniutes. One of the most gorgeous beers I’ve ever seen. Lemon and grapefruit aroma. Barely some honey sweetness then an incredible tart lemon finish. Great carb but champagne bubbles make this one smooth sour. Definitely one of the best sours I’ve ever tried.

(750ml bottle at RBWG!). Pours hazy golden with massive white head. Decent carbonation. Awesome funky aroma with some fruit (apricot, green apple, and papaya. Taste is tart/funky with a nice amount of vinegar that isn’t typical of many american beers. Medium bodied with a dry finish. This is a bright, incredible sour. This is a fantastic beer!