Reunion - A Beer For Hope 2007

Poured dark brown with a huge thick brown head. Almost opaque. Nose of alcohol, chocolate, cream. Mouth of thickness, chocolate, caramel while tastes of chocolate, malt, hops and alcohol. I liked this beer wished I had a couple more bottles to let it settle down.

Bottle from Topps in Tempe. The pour was brown with burgundy edges, huge tan head. The aroma was bubble gum, roast, chocoalte. The flavor was smoke, (bitter) roast, dark malts, some black licorice, chocolate, bubble gum, plastic off notes. The mouthfeel was over carbonated, finish bitter (hops or roast, not sure).

So, I’m not an expert in distinguishing what a phenolic beer is, but this beer was wayyyyy overcarbonated. I was a bit more patient than the previous rater, but I still wasted about 1/6th of the beer pouring out excess head. It doesn’t smells medicinally, though; in fact it smells of coffee, toffee, caramel and perhaps stone fruit. Tastes of coffee, sweet malt, alcohol, clove, and a pleasant hoppy finish. Mouthfeel was was pretty thick for anything other than a stout, but too bubbly. It gets extra points for being all charitable or whatever.

15-May-07 (22 oz bottle: Purchased 09-Apr-07 for $4.95 at Liquid Solutions in Tigard, OR) This is my second attempt to sample an uninfected bottle of this beer, and as previously promised, this time I purchased it from another state. I didn’t even have to pour the beer, all I had to do was pop the cap and the phenolic aroma almost bowled me over. Tasting the extreme phenolic state of the beer confirms the initial impression -- this beer is done for too. Not as foamy as the previous bottle, the tan head is actually quite attractive sitting atop the hazy, ruddy-brown body. I guess the real issue is whether I’ll continue trying to find a healthy bottle of this beer...

27-Mar-07 (12 oz bottle: Purchased 17-Feb-07 for $4.79 at BevMo in La Jolla, CA) Just an absolutely ridiculous amount of heading, no matter how slow I poured the beer. I finally gave up and just put the glass in the sink and proceeded to empty the entire bottle into the glass, hoping to get at least 4 or 5 ounces of actual beer. That’s about all I got. After scooping out some of the bubbles, I took my first sip and almost had beer explode out of my mouth. I’ve never had a beer so overcarbonated in my life. I took a spoon and gave a few quick swirls to the beer and the head exploded out of the glass again. Now I’m down to about 2 ounces of beer, but at least I can keep some of it in my mouth when I take a sip. So now, here’s the question. How many people think this is simply a case of overcarbonation? Yeah, me neither. This is a "test kit" example of phenolic aroma and flavor. Enough said on this bottle of beer. With bottles exploding on the shelves, the entire BevMo chain decided to pull all bottles and get a nice refund check from Bison Brewing. So now my challenge is to actually find a bottle that isn’t infected. I think I’ll shop out of state...

Pours dark brown with reddish hues with a thin wispy tan head. Aroma of chocolate and caramel candies, ruby-colored toffee and flowery pungent hops. Taste is sticky toffee, fruity hops with notes of citrus, berry, and acidic resins. Mouthfeel is full bodied, sticky with lush carbonation. A bit messy, but still enjoyable.

The beer releases to the glass a clear brown with big ruby highlights, the head is ponderous in size and a creamy tan color, as it eventually fades away, the lacing provides a thick and sticky sheet to cover the glass. Nose is sweet with malt, caramel, and a pleasing touch of hop flowers, crisp and clean. Start has a decent malt presence, nut like sweetness, with a nice hop bite at the back, top feels moderate. Finish is sternly acidic, the hops provide a delightful spiciness, sweet till the end with a very dry lingering aftertaste, a nice drinking beer.

Rats. Text lost after not saving before hitting Add Rating. Rewrite somewhat abbreviated. Chestnut color with hints of ruby when held to the light. Malt-house aromas with specialty malt, light brown sugar and hint of herbal hops. Caramel malt with some dark fruit and light grapefruit juice. Somewhat spicy in the finish with a touch of cloves. I like this better than the typical brown ale. Good cause - ASAP (always say a prayer).

Bottle from Bottle Barn; Nose of chocolate, light hops, a hint of molasses, and some raostiness; clear brown with a huge tan head that receded slowly lightly lacing the glass; flavor of brown sugar, caramel, and a little hoppy bitterness almost covered by the sweetness up front;