Pizza Port Cuvee de Tomme

Bottle at Monk’s café – not sure of the vintage at the moment (it’s the one with the dark colored label and the big "C")This one pours a dark red with almost no head. Aroma is a huge and wonderful mix of strong, tart cherries, bretty-sweet sourness, bourbon and vanilla notes, Cabernet Sauvignon and some assorted funky scents. Flavor has a nice bretty funk and sourness with a strong sour cherry taste. Also some woody, oaky, bourbon, and quality red wine (Zin, Cab) thrown in here plus some alcohol hotness. Mouthfeel is thick with a nice pucker factor. The biggest drawback is the alcohol taste and overall heat – I’m guessing it needs more time. Points for originality and overall taste and presentation, but this doesn’t match the best brett beers I’ve had – namely Cuvee de Castleton and Supplication. Damn good! I will definitely lay away my bottles from Patron Sinners for a bit, as I think they will improve quite a bit with a little time. Re-rate of a 2008 bottle: Well, this does it - its prettier, heartier with a great oaky-vanilla-bourbon sweetness in aroma and flavor. Lots of vinous fruits and cherries in a blend that is nothing short of amazing. Awesome feel. Tomme took a really good beer and made it truly great. Wow.

Tasted many times over the years. Mind boggling and unique, but I’ve usually preferred the Mother of All Beers base beer. Copper brown color; aroma of big sour persimmon and other funky fruit, cherries, wine and bourbon wood flavors. Like taking a framboise and going off the deep end. Flavors of tongue twisting sour strange tropical fruit, persimmon...some versions without aging may be a tad syrupy, harsh, acidic, alcoholic, yet still intense, intriguing and fun. Not for the timid. The 05’ is a real standout right now.

Bottle, at various locations during the Zythos weekend, March 2006. Hazy chestnut red, moderate off white head and good condition. Oxidized woody metallic notes over sour cherry in the nose, everything up a notch in the mouth with some barnyard notes but without becoming overpowering, ling lingering tinny metallic and woody/earthy finish.

White label, gold foil: Bloody red pour with no head, no apparent carbonation. Fresh pressed cherries hit me first in the nose, with a healthy dose of oak and ether. The body is really tart, with loads of cherries - still fresh. Lots of fresh juice, oaky wood dry things out. A deeper layer reveals some jungle fruits and more lacto like sourness. Wow - complex and really nice.

Richmond "industry" gathering. Of all the amazing beers there, this is the one I was most excited to try, and it didn’t disappoint. Hazy darkish brown, slight but persistent head. Massive sour cherry aroma. Flavor was dominated by cherry, some sourness, and wood. Flavors were all huge and lasting. An incredible beer, my favorite of the tasting.

Sample from bottle at Port tasting, and at GABF. Dark, hazy brown. A little nutty bourbon aroma. Sour cherry. So good. Taste lingers forever and makes you want more. Great, great beer that I wish I could get more of.

Bottle courtesy hapjydeuce to whom I’m deeply appreciative of for this gem, which did nothing but exceed my already high expectations. The pour was burgundy-purple to brown in color, thin initial head, barely stuck around, quit flat looking, near nil lacing, terrible if comparing to Belgian strongs, but to be expected if thinking about Flemish Sours, especially one of this strength. The aroma was wonderful cherries, wine, funky brett. The flavor was cherries, wine, sour cherries, slight barnyard, grapes, funky, some dark fruits, slight hints oak. What wonderful concoction to behold and consume, so worth the wait, hopefully a wait which won’t be as long before my next one. Mouthfeel was firm and full bodied, but thinned a little by the acidity. Thanks again, Justin!

November 2007. 375 ml bottle, vintage 2007. Thanks, Zac! Resembling an out of body experience. Chocolate brown and very muddy pour. Still, with a glint of glassy brandy shade around the edge. Bretty balsamic aroma with delicate sweet shades of toasted oak, smooth creme brulee and vanilla; sour cherries, peppery gueuze, mint and dark chocolate. Bottomless. Raspberry, funk. Flavor is truly, without equivocation or exaggeration, absolutely unique. Tartness right away slices through with a jagged precision, carving out a dry cherry skin and old orange rendering. Spicy sensations spark with brilliant restraint; white pepper, cinnamon. Apple, raisin, goat cheese; pure, intangible, transcendent complexity. Cherry plays with sweet wood, spruce tips and that dry rub of chocolate for a bewilderingly unique impression. Tangy, dark, and imposing. Warmth reveals a quieted sweetness in maple, honey and melon. Full and lively palate, wherein the heavy malt and the bite of brett hum in a tight and practiced harmony. Pulses with a blast of lemon juice, pure cocoa, and mint leaves, though this blossoms with the slow intensity of autumn, arriving with a calculated delay for an ideal effect. Fully unique and sophisticated, yet personable and accessible; a complete and stunning tour de force of imagination. 9/4/10/5/19 4.7

August 2008. Poured from a 375 ml bottle, vintage 2008, thanks to Ty. Clear mahogany pour; glassy and gorgeous. Chocolate and candied almond aroma, cut with sharpness of apple cider vinegar, the tart sweetness of golden raisins. A tight vanilla oakiness and a beautiful textured bitterness of vine fruit tannins. It’s emotive capacity is limitless. The flavor is somewhat more constrained by its youth, seemingly. Big cherry juice and licorice-like cola sweetness, balanced in earthy bitterness of herbs and semisweet chocolate. Some green, lightly alcoholic, and briefly hit with a toasty bourbon-toned sweetness of coconut and wood. Cherries and sugars open up in the nose a bit more with warmth. A confounding mineral character blending with the cherry tannin in the yeast pour. Gravelly and funky, and left a bit loose. It doesn’t wrap together as well as it might in a few more months. Sourness rushes forth. It’s still feathery and soft in flavor, but the brett is biting a little. Heavy and soothing complex palate; full, and careful in warmth; finish is lengthy, and showing some bourbon-like brown sugar, on cherries and somewhat plain wood. Still a fabulous idea of a beer, although this vintage is a bit young yet. 9/4/8/4/15 4.0