Ithaca Vitus

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

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

Bottle shared by mentor, thanks Paul. Poured a deep crimson-brown color with some red highlights and a thin off-white head that faded to a ring. Aroma of lightly sweet bourbon, a bit of chocolate, some hints of grape and cherry paired with some soft, earthy yeastiness. The aroma was decent, but it was pretty subdued...you really had to dig to pick elements out. Lightly tart, smooth entry with some tart fruit (grape and cherry) that leads into a moderate yeast dryness with some oak paired with apple on the finish. Low carbonation and decent mouthfeel. Overall, it was a decent beer, but it didn’t really have an outstanding qualities to set it apart from other beers in the same category.

Pros: Very nice dark ruby color. Aroma shows a lot of depth, chocolate, wood (bourbon, wine.)

Cons: Very mild flavor, not a lot of complexity or depth. Not a lot of fruit character. Really thin body.

A high quality beer, but it wouldn’t be one I’d collect.

(Draught) Pours a hazy dark red body with a small beige head. Aroma of leather, sour fruit, light whiskey, and some roasted malt. Flavor of sour cherry, citrus, grapes, and light funkiness with a dry finish.

Tap from 08 Night of the Funk. Aroma of chocolate, cocoa, sweetish, darkish fruits, hints of sweet whiskey meshing nicely with these fruits. Flavor exhibits a decent tartness overlapping with the rest from the aroma. Very nice, very interesting beer.

Tap sampled on 09/26/08 at Night of the Funk. Pours a dirty brown with a bubbly head. Aroma of whiskey, predominantly, and slight roast and chocolate. Flavor is tart initially (a surprised based on the aroma) with a whiskey finish. The whiskey notes are still too dominant in this beer for a lot of the sour and grapey notes to come out. An ok beer, but I really don’t know why this was aged in whiskey-- it just ruins the beer.

Dark brown pour. Distinct balsamic aroma. Lightly sour. Rich, yet the light acidity make it quite refreshing. Well balanced.

(BCTC, draft) Small beige head atop dark brown body. Aroma is medium sweet, Brett/cherry, some wood. Taste is medium sweey, wood/cherry/Brett, wood in finish. Light-medium body, some effervescence.

UPDATED: AUG 7, 2008 Dark brown and clear, with an off-white/tan head. Nose contains some light smoke, more prominent tart bready crackers, some acidic medicinal notes… flavor has a medium sourness, some light to moderate acidity, somewhat puckery, very vibrant, with licorice, bran and cereal grains playing around with some dark fruit.