 Jokes (1449), Chicago, Illinois, USA
Oct 19, 2006
Deep brown with garnet hues. Essentially no head. A unique and enjoyable nose. Mostly roasted with a rather substantial smoke element, roasted malt, whole grains, light raisin and prune with almost no sweetness, vanilla, oak, tropical fruits and quite subdued Brett notes. A moderate body with virtually no carbonation leaves a little to be desired, but is good enough. The flavor is malty, but without much residual sweetness, and is accentuated by the unique yeast. It’s a bit tart with some definite acidity, but nothing like some of us are used to with other sour beers. I can see this actually resembling some of the traditional beers brewed before the advancements in santitation. It’s nice and malty with a dry finish and just a touch of tartness, but nothing that really distracts from the beer. The oak is quite mild and luckily untainted by whiskey or some other agent. Not as exciting as I initially hoped upon first hearing of the product, nor is it as disappointing as some made it out to be. Well worth a try; no question.
TURDFERGUSON (1136), Carrboro, North Carolina, USA
Aug 4, 2008 Bottle from someone at the ratebeer table Saturday at BCTC. Thanks! Pour is brown with a whispy white lace. Nose is slightly sour, with a bit of yeast, and a good amount of woody oak. Flavor has a watery sourness to it, more yeast, oak, and a bit of brett. As Paul said, this may be on the downslide. Still glad to try it though.
drfabulous (712), Columbia, Missouri, USA
Jul 3, 2008 Like a big ole cola. Lots of pepsi in it. I don’t know what is going on with this beer. Little taste. Brett not used properly. Saison? No way. Very confusing beer.
pumpkinheart (63), Aurora, Illinois, USA
May 19, 2008 22oz. bottle into Tulip glass. Pours very thick. Sports a color that is the darkest possible brown, mere degrees off from black. Held up to white it appears black, but light shown beautiful ruby-violet color. Head is a couple fingers of off-white that dissipates after a brief period to a thin ring around the edge of the glass. Aroma is raisins, dark fruits and a tinge of maltiness. Definitely makes an interesting first impression. Flavor is tart, to be sure. Much caramel and some slight roastiness. An abundance of the dark fruits, almost like a wine or cordial. Not in the least bitter, not in the least proud of it’s ABV. Did leave a thick coating on the mouth, although it was really not unpleasant. This was a sipper for me, and I will need to try more of the style to see how it compares. Absolutely seems to have aged quite well; I’m fortunate, I suppose, to have been able to buy mine just recently already aged. In any event, this proved a nice contrast to the usual, particularly at only $5.99 for the bomber (and that’s in 2008 dollars, not 2006).
iowaherkeye (1382), rocking podunk Marengo!, Iowa, USA
Apr 29, 2008 22oz, no date, though I believe it was a one-off from ’06. Archer Liquors ran out before I could put an order in, and I got this bottle late Summer ’07 from someone in the Mystery Swap 2.0. Thanks! Clear deep ruby--black in the glass--with a one finger beige head, low retention (faded to a ring within seconds). Aroma of roasted malts and leathery funky barnyard, some caramel and lemon. So far, so good. Flavor starts with roast for just a moment and then the tart lemony funk of the brett kicks in. At this beer’s age, I don’t think the brett could go too much further. There is some oak in the semi-dry roasty lemony finish. Bitterness peaked at a 2. Absolutely no hint of the 8.5% ABV. Light to moderate carbonation with a medium body. This was not the most complex beer I’ve had, but this was tasty--reminded me of a lighter version of JP Madruga Obscura if memory serves correctly. I am usually disappointed with about all that Two Brothers releases, but this one was actually quite nice--it lived up to its description this time!
willblake (1932), Long Branch, New Jersey, USA
Apr 28, 2008 20070120 Sampled at Paul’s. Very nice black saison that is rich and pruny but maybe a touch on the sweet side. Could be drier. Tart, musty, woody finish redeems.
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