 Brigadier (848), Chagrin Falls, Ohio, USA
May 12, 2008
12 oz bottle
This was from the first batch and had a few years on it. I needed something good to get out of a funk of predictable and safe beers. A Grand Reserve release was just the ticket. I consider this one of the best beers around if you can find any from the last bottling. If not keeps your eyes open and pick it up when you can. The sourness only gets better with time.
Aroma / Appearance - The caramelized opaque body suspended a trace of sediment below a sticky eggshell head. Chocolate, oak and malt formed a very rich set of aromas with the sourness set to medium. This was not super tart but obviously had a bit of funk to it.
Flavor / Palate - Oaky cola blended with dark truffles formed a very nice desertlike experience. Chocolate and caramel preceded a carbonated moist aftertaste of plums and cherries. The mouthfeel was full bodied, rich and complicated. It was a nice capstone to wrap up a busy day.
The_Epeeist (903), Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, USA
Jul 31, 2008 12 oz bottle. Deep ruby brown with a slim bubbly head. Nose is a pungent sour apricot with distinct horse stall. I cringed at first sniff but strangely intriguing. A few pricks of carb with a full mouthfeel that becomes vaporous. Taste is very sour cherry skins, lemon juice, oak and cinnamon Red Hots. Quite intense.
acrdz (4228), Pennsylvania, USA
Jul 20, 2008 12oz bottle thanks to Schroppfy. Pours a deep bloody brown and purple color, soft yet heavy and strong in appearance, almost intimidating. Amazingly vibrant and deep nose, the red wine-scented oak tannins and light note of sweet bourbon hit the nose, followed quickly by an assertive, rich, and deep hit of acidic sour funk. Plums, light char, dry oak tannins, the flavor of mushy red wine grapes, the flavor of old wood, it’s one of the most miraculous things I’ve ever tasted, there’s little doubt. The full-bodied, frothy sourness washes through the entire body, part playing a role of a Flemish Red, but a bigger part going experimental, combining things never before seen together in one beer. Incredible.
lilannie (380), State College, Pennsylvania, USA
Jul 19, 2008 Aroma: earthiness, woodiness, sour, some dark fruits
Appearance: muddy brown, very small head
Flavor: oak barrels, wood, minerals, lactic, sourness, sour cherries, dark fruits
Palate: very tart, very sour, prickley at back of throat
Overall: Probably the best beer they make by far!
EricE (197), Beltsville, Maryland, USA
Jul 11, 2008 Updated: Jul 12, 2008Hazy dark red-orange pour with a nice tan head. Intense sour aroma. Lots of funk with some grape and apple. Woody and musty. Very sour flavor with intense fruitiness. Creamy finish with some spicy bite and funk. A little bit of sweetness to it. Fantastic! Thanks Ryan!
SuzyGreenberg (900), Seattle, Washington, USA
Jul 10, 2008 12 oz. bottle - batch 65; pours flat and dark brown-orange; slight haze against the light; some sour aromas, but more musky, woody and almost like dirty feet; thin body and lots of sour and funk, and also vinegar; bourbon influence not very noticeable and pretty much smoked against the LA Red Poppy; too vinegary for me
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