Avant-Garde Ale

Tasted Tuesday evening after dinner with Jen for Valentines Day. Picked this bottle up from the Galena Wine and Cheese Co. over Christmas. Snifter Served.
7% ABV

Appearance: Golden copper with a blond looking pour as the beer entered the glass. Extremely clear and brilliant. Initially, the head is substantial and bubbly, but is quick to back off into the beer leaving a trace of foam on the surface. Hardly any lacing.

Aroma: Funky and Bretty. I'd call it borderline horse blanket/goat sweat. Nevertheless there is a bready malt base along with brief hints of citrus and orange. Alternatively, I get some grassy notes alongside an overwhelming yeast bill.

Taste: The taste is actually surprisingly sweet, but manageabley balanced. Honey and bread make up the forefront sweetness.There is still a prominent yeast note, but to my surprise a lot more fruit and hop flavors than expected. Grape and pear come through up front, followed by swift yeast flavor and then to finish with both a grassiness and an orange zest bitterness. There is a lot of pine incorporated into the end of the beer, complemented by the tropical flavors and spicing from the yeast. The hops that dry out the palate are smooth, but add a fantastic flavor

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied with strong carbonation that stings the tongue. A bit of mild bitterness hangs around the palate in the aftertaste to dry it out.
Overall Impression: Interesting play on a Farmhouse Style Ale, the Brett and farmhouse characteristics dominate the aroma, whereas they become negligible in the flavor. Only a slight yeastiness surfaces, but is nearly unparalleled against the hops and tropical fruit elements.

Witch's Wit

Bought this from the Galena River Wine and Cheese company this afternoon as with the remaining credit on my gift card from Christmas. I returned to the QC that evening with time to get in a 10 miler and head to RIBCo for their 1/2 price draught pints. Shared in snifters with Neil Viagers and Jen.

Appearance: Yellow with a very apparent cloudiness. Head is minimal but allows for a sheath of foam to settle across the surface. Carbonation looks to be minimal, but a good swirl unleashes a wrath of bubbles. If one were to pour the dreggs, the beer takes on an enticingly milky appearance, giving me the perception of a very hearty drink.

Aroma: High prominence of funk (though the more the dreggs are added, the less funk?). I even get a scent of chlorine even. Honey, wheat citrus and lemon zest. Definitely cloves and other phenols erupt from the surface of the beer. Given a good shake, the beer could even be explained to having an enterobacter scent.

Taste: Up front, the beer exhibits a very wheaty character, without the funkiness noted in the scent. Lemon grass and zest are very present right alongside the carbonation and the wheat base malt. I can see that honey was used as the primary fermentate. The cloves or other phenols don't stand out as much in the finish than I would have expected, but still round out in the mild manner, enough to create some crisp and drying flavors at the end.
Mouthfeel: The first half is deceptively heavier than the second half, with the division being the highly bubbly, but smooth carbonation. The end is crisp and slightly zesty, with a drying after feel.

Overall Impression: A Belgian I'd like to drink more of, the honey helps create a clean finish, while preserving the wheat upfront and leaving out any doughiness, a lot of phenols or funk. Very drinkable and refreshing. If one can get over the scent, this is a great introductory beer with a twist. Really complex.

10 Commandments Belgian Strong Ale

Tasted last Monday for RIBCo's 1/2 priced draught pints. I unintentionally got a whole pint of this which deterred me from my original 3-pint-plan, and resulted in two for the night. Reviewed on premise in a pint glass.
10% ABV

Appearance: Mahogany Brown with very little head, if at all. Definitely filtered, and maintaining a very pristine clarity when held to the light Carbonation looks to be strong initially, with an accumulation of bubbles clinging to the sides of the glass. Off white ring for a head an wet speckled lacing left in its wake.

Aroma: Caramel and raisin...And very fruity overall with alternative sensations reminiscent of plums, figs and grapes. Subtle hints of cocoa and biscuit are present under a rich vininess. Some molasses is picked up upfront as the beer warms. 

Taste: The front is rather acidic with a strong viney taste to it. Biscuit and caramel for a brief time can be experienced. Next up, a predominantly grape related flavor and champagne-esk tartness comes through rather aggressively. Roasted fruits and other complexities are present at the end along with a very assertive alcoholic flavor. Raisins are consistent throughout, and become more intense as the beer warms. The absolute end (before the aftertaste) does engage with a lot of clove related phenols, and even hints of cinnamon.

Mouthfeel: Bubbly and acidic from start to finish. The front may come off as a little light, but in this case, the beer develops more of a body as it transitions towards the finish. Drying end, but not from the hops, more from the fermentation by-products.
Overall Impression: I'd see this as more of a clash between a port, and carbonated dry wine with a hint of beer flavor if you were to be generous. Lots of raisins, almost to the extent they overwhelm. In fact, they do. Most of the complexity is front bound, but the second half reveals a lot of fermentation based flavors as well. Alcohol is very present in the finish

Judgment Day Ale

I purchased this bottle from the Galena River Wine and Cheese Company over the New Years weekend. I was able to share it on Monday afternoon with Joe Wietlispach, Tim and Jen (and Liz) while enjoying a delicious Deer and Rice medley that Tim cooked up. I figured I'd bring this one over to share with several others due to the alcohol strength.

Appearance: Served in a snifter. Huge beige head (frothed to the brim) with an underlying network of large soapy bubbles. A dense froth creates a peaking texture atop. The color is deep brown with a purple rubied hue. There isn’t any light penetrating except when an ultra bright flash light is held to the glass.
Aroma: There is a lot of oxidation at the front nose of the beer. Other notes of mildew and other alcohol oriented scents emerge. Plum and dark roasted fruits. There is a large concentration of high temperature fermentation yeast byproducts present.
Taste: Plums and raisins are prominent right from the start in combination with a mild caramel and dark crystal malt base. Fruity esters remain throughout. Alcohol is quite apparent, yet well integrated into the beer. Generally, this beer is quite sweet. I think that a lot of extra sugar was used to boost the alcohol and reaching such a high concentration left still some residual sweetness, but not enough to play against the body. There is a faint note of chocolate the develops as the beer begins to warm.
Mouthfeel:  Ironically, the beer exhibits a lesser body than I would have expected. Like I said earlier, I think much of the easy-fermenting malt/sugar adjunct was fermented out (to give us our 10.5% ABV), while leaving some residual complex sugars for sweetness. Mouthfeel is smooth while carbonation remains low. Drying finish, not from hops, but from the ethyl alcohols.
Overall Impression: Sweet and estery with a huge alcohol to match. Body was a lot lighter than would initially expect, but doesn’t detract from the impression. The raisins are very dominant in the forefront of the beer, and slowly fade to the end. Certainly a sipper, but of different origin.


85/100

Devotion Ale

The first beer of the New Year (2012). I purchased this fro the Galena River Wine & Cheese store in Galena. This is the first of the Lost Abbey's I've had, with many more to come. Tasted Sunday morning out of a wine glass while playing scrabble and eating leftover pizzas from last night.

Appearance: Golden straw in color while exhibiting a glowing orange turbidity. A large 1" foamy off white head sets delicately across the surface of the beer. Soapy eyes develops as the head falls into the beer. Lacing is dry and silhouetted.
Aroma: Notes of funk and horse blanket are present at the front. Some elements of wheat and bready sweetness are distinguishable. Mildy astringent and perceptively citrusy. Quite floral.
Taste: The sweetness doesn't really come through until the end. The beer pushes a very upfront hop bitterness representative of floral and peppery characteristics. Citrusy with minute undertones of orange peel and phenolic clove. Apart from the other elements, the hops also contribute a very drying, and fresh resinous profile. Generally zesty, with an underlying phenolic and yeasty, yet clean finish. As the beer warms, a brief bready backbone emerges.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied and quite smooth with soft carbonation towards the front of the mouth. Some slickness is prominent at the roof while the beer remains very drying and resinous, but nevertheless refreshing.
Overall Impression: The more I sip this beer, the more enticing the flavor becomes. Extremely drinkable with a very prominent fresh hop flavor. Floral comes to mind too. Hops are definitely at the front of this one while the bread malt takes a undertone. Clove phenols also work to parallel the bitterness creating a drying feel on the palate. This is one of the few Belgian Pale Ale's I've had that is very well a balanced and crisp.


88/100