Beer Review: Upland Blackberry Lambic (2010 vintage)

Reviewing the 2010 vintage of Blackberry Lambic from Upland Brewing Company out of Bloomington, Indiana.

Score: 91

Brewed 04/02/09 and bottled 10/11/10. Served in an Upland snifter glass (proper glasware!) and enjoyed on 07/03/13.

Appearance: This bottle was an absolutely volcanic gusher, and we lost nearly a quarter of the bottle. Blackberry color with tons of floaty fruit chunks. I enjoy pulpy juice, so why not pulpy beer? Thin layer of persistent head. Excellent lacing and retention. 4.25/5

Smell: Jammy blackberries, lactoey yogurt, hint of fruity yeast. Not very complex. 4/5

Taste: More blackberry flavor and substantially less lactoey yogurt on the palate. Averagely tart; nowhere near as tart as either Kiwi Lambic or Raspberry Lambic. Jammy flavors and Belgian-y qualities (fruitness and yeast, primarily) towards the finish. What tartness there is is best described as "zesty" and layers. As this brew warms up, more yogurt flavor comes through. I was honestly hoping for more tartness and more blackberry, but this is still tasty. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Light-medium bodied, average tartness. Good carbonation for style/profile. 4/5

Overall: Having had Kiwi Lambic and Raspberry Lambic previously, I found Blackberry Lambic massively disappointing in relative terms, but tasty in absolute terms. I wish there was much more tartness and less lactoey yogurt. The Belgian style base was much more prominent than I was expecting

Cost: $20 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Melange 8

Reviewing Melange 8 from The Bruery out of Placentia, California.

Score: 84

2013 vintage bottle served in an Upland snifter glass and enjoyed on 07/03/13.
Appearance: The color of the beer is a yellowish-green-brown caramel color that kind of looks like a melange of the colors on the label. Pours a thin ring around the glass of off-white head. Poor lacing, OK retention. 2.75/5

Smell: Coffee is the first thing I notice upfront, but it is ultimately not the most prominent or lasting element of the aroma. Immediately after the coffee is sweet caramel, sweet vanilla, toffee and a little oakiness. Nice medley of sweet aromas with some coffee to balance. The coffee is not very roasty, but it is appealingly pleasant. 4/5

Taste: Tastes just like it smells with substantially less coffee and more sugary sweetness. Quite malty. Some alcohol warmth and a little booziness too. At first, I thought the barrel and malty sweet flavors made for a nice mix, but the sweetness really layers and grows on you in a negative way. This beer quickly borderlines cloying. 3.25/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, quite low carbonation. Unnecessarily sweet, but this is The Bruery. Sticky on palate. 3.75/5

Overall: Even by The Bruery's standards, this beer was a sweet mess. There was not nearly enough roasty/bitter coffee to offset the overbearing sweetness of the brew, and none of the people present when this bottle was opened could finish more than a few ounces before giving up. It is not a bad beer, but it's one that gets undrinkably sweet as it layers, and nearly a third of this bottle was ultimately donated to the drain at the end of the night. If you own a bottle, I would recommend trading it away. I wish I had my forty bucks back.

Cost: $40 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts

Reviewing the Johnny Quest Thinks We're Sellouts, a collaboration between DryHop Brewers and Begyle Brewing Company. Both breweries are located in Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 90

Tap pour served in a taster glass as part of a beer flight at the DryHop Brewers Brewpub on 06/28/13.

Appearance: Deep chestnut brown color. Ring around glass of head served. Okay lacing, above average retention. 3.75/5

Smell: Hops, citrus, hint of grassiness and hot chocolate mix. Nice mix of "oddball" flavors that do not generally pair well together done well, but this brew is not the most complex on the nose. Smells like you would expect a black IPA to smell. 4/5

Taste: Smokiness and roasty-forward malt, which was totally unexpected from the nose. More traditional IPA-like outside of the smokey and roastiness. No chocolate. Not "hop" intensive, "pale ale" degree of bitterness. Slightly base finish with the lasting smokey roastiness. Tasty and different. 4/5

Mouthfeel: Greater than light bodied, spot on carbonation. Dry finish. 4/5

Overall: A very solid beer with a somewhat unique taste. Nothing earth shattering here, but this brew is pleasant and enjoyable. I would order a full glass, but I would not go out of my way to seek this brew out.

Cost: $5 for a pint.

Beer Review: Shark Meets Hipster

Reviewing the Shark Meets Hipster from DryHop Brewers out of Lakeview in Chicago, Illinois.

Score: 93

Tap pour served in a taster glass as part of a beer flight at the DryHop Brewers Brewpub on 06/28/13.

Appearance: Dull and cloudy tangerine color with a thin layer of froth served. Excellent lacing and cling/retention. 4.5/5

Smell: Dulled tropical notes primarily mixed with aromas of grain sweetness. Mango, tangerine and citrus juice aromas that are vaguely reminisce of the Three Floyds and De Struise collaboration To Live A Rich Life (aka Shark Pants) without the Belgian twist. Hint of sticky, danky hops. 4.25/5

Taste: Tastes like a much more bitter and infinitely more tropically juicy Gumball Head. Less juicy intense IPA-like than the nose led on, and more bitter. Very dry and "leafy" green hops but not "piney." The bitterness lays heavy and lingers on the tongue, but does not "bite" so to speak. I find this aspect quite intriguing. There is a nice sweet juicy malt backbone. Some orange rind flavor too, a touch of passion fruit and tangerine. 4.25/5

Mouthfeel: Light-plus bodied, low carbonation. Quite bitter and oily on the tongue. 4.25/5

Overall: A delicious brew that is nice and "bitterly hoppy." I like how the lighter sweet juicy citrus characters add balance and the complexity twist of the wheat beer base. This is a beer I would order a full pint of. Cheers!

Cost: $5 for a 16 oz pour and $6 for a 32 oz (counter-pressured) growler fill.

Beer Review: M Belgian-Style Barleywine

Reviewing the infamous and elusive M Begian-Style Barleywine from the Midnight Sun Brewing Company out of Anchorage, Alaska. This is Midnight Sun's 10th anniversary beer and 1,000th batch produced. This barleywine has a massive malt bill, used four different strains of yeast to ferment (two were of Belgian origin, hence the "Belgian-Style"), and was aged in bourbon barrels.

Score: 96

May 2005 vintage bottle served in a snifter glass and enjoyed at Dark Lord Day 2013 on 04/27/13. HUGE thanks to Shawn Raymond, the generosity king of all kings, for this glorious hookup! This is likely going to be the biggest whale I ever slay, and I cannot begin to thank you enough for the opportunity. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a traditional toffee brown barleywine color with a wispy coating and thick ring of tan-beige head. Good lacing and retention for the pour size. 4/5

Smell: Surprised to find no real oxidation here. The dark fruit presence is greater than anticipated, with ample caramel to boot. Bourbon-oak, vanilla, and molasses too. Incredibly enticing; an interesting medley of flavors. 4.75/5

Taste: Taste follows the nose, but the vanilla character seems more prominent. Incredibly smooth, perfectly balanced. Just a hint of positive fruity oxidation, which plays nicely into the dark fruit character. There is a little bit of raw chocolate or cocoa powder-like flavor too. Some non-sweet molasses flavor as well. I do not detect any oak, and the bourbon quality was pretty subtle overall save for the vanilla. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: I felt the viscocity and carbonation were appropriate, but one of the trade offs of analyzing a small pour is the mouthfeel. If you want to get a few good tastes, you cannot take a single sip large enough to get any solid impression about the mouthfeel. The flavor balance was excellent, and I did not find this barleywine to be too fruity or sweet even with eight years of age. 4/5

Overall: An excellent beer, and one of the top barleywines that I have had the opportunity to tick. However, that said, this beer is not one of the ten best overall beers I had ever had and it certainly is not worth the $1,500 the last one sold for on eBay.

Cost: $10 or $15 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle at the brewery at the time of the release, the most recently sold bottle that I know of sold for over $1,500.

Beer Review: Duck Duck Gooze (2009 vintage, batch 1)

Reviewing batch 1 (the 2009 vintage) of the infamous Duck Duck Gooze from The Lost Abbey out of San Marcos, California. Shout out to Jonathan Feldman for bringing this bottle!

Score: 100

2009 vintage bottle served in an hard plastic wine chalice and enjoyed on 05/18/13 side-by-side with a bottle of 2012 Cable Car as part of our Chicago Craft Beer Week whales tasting. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Similar color to, but a little lighter and more "bright" than, the Cable Car (orangey-golden in color). Only a thin ring of head around glass off the pour. Surprisingly good lacing and retention (Cable Car absolutely lacked both). 5/5

Smell: Tart apples, pear, hint of mango. Super sour nose. 5

Taste: Incredibly tart peach, apple, mango, lemon and some vinegar. Lacto too, but not in a funky way. A light amount of pine as well. 5/5

Mouthfeel: A little more body than Cable Car (which was light-medium bodied) with a perfect level of carbonation as well. More tart than Cable Car too, with a tongue tingling zestiness that was like drinking liquid warhead candy. Just as dry as Cable Car on the finish. 5/5

Overall: Even better than Cable Car. This is one I wish I had a case (or ten) of. I love how "clean" and sour this was, without being heavy on the funk. This is one of the best beers I have had the opportunity to sample. Prost!

Cost: $40 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Cable Car (2012 vintage)

Reviewing the 2012 vintage of the infamous Cable Car from The Lost Abbey out of San Marcos, California. Major thank you to Kevin Fujii and Tyler Shaughnessy for helping me acquire this brew!

Score: 99

2012 vintage bottle served in an Upland snifter and enjoyed on 05/18/13 side-by-side with a bottle of 2010 Duck Duck Goose as part of our Chicago Craft Beer Week whales tasting. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours a dull golden-orange color with a thin layer of fizzy head that settles to a ring around the glass. No lacing or retention. Average golden ale-like appearance 3.5/5

Smell: Lactobacillus, vinegar, lemon, mango and a hint of tart apples. Has an imitation "Cantillon dust"-like aroma that I absolutely dig. Light fruitiness. Acidic nose. White grape too. 5/5

Taste: Mango, lemon, lacto and acidic grape. Very tart and dry. 5/5

Mouthfeel: Light-medium bodied, perfect carbonation. Big in flavor, quite tart. Juicy on the palate, dry on the finish. 5/5

Overall: Absolutely love this beer. It's bold, zesty and tart, while not being very funky. In this regard, it is my ideal sour. It could be more complex, but this brew absolutely delivers in what it brings to the table

Cost: $40 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Cuvee de Castleton (Batch 4)

Reviewing the Cuvee de Castleton from Captain Lawrence Brewing Company out of Elmsford, New York.

Score: 98

Batch 4 (summer 2010 vintage). Served in a hard plastic wine glass and enjoyed on 05/18/13 at our Chicago Craft Beer Week whales tasting. Review is from iPhone notes.

Appearance: Pours an orange-golden color with minimal bubbly head off the pour. Virtually no head or lacing. Nothing special in appearance. 3.25/5

Smell: Tart lemon zest, peach, white grape, citrus juice, vinegar, and brett. Absolutely phenomenal sour-apparent nose. 4.75/5

Taste: Just as tart as the nose promised! A divine medley of sour peach, white grapiness, brett, vinegar. 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, lightly carbonated. Quite tart, very dry finish. Love the pucker here! 5/5

Overall: A truly amazing American sour. This is one of the more pucker-inducing beers I have had to date. I wish I had more bottles of this!

Cost: $15 for a 500 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Karl Strauss 23rd Anniversary Old Ale

Reviewing the 23rd Anniversary Old Ale from Karl Strauss Brewing Company out of San Diego, California.

Score: 92

February 2012 vintage bottle served in a tulip taster glass and enjoyed on 03/01/13 from a bottle I brought to the Beer Temple to share with the store's customers. Review is from iPhone notes

Appearance: Bourbon caramel color. Virtually no head off the pour, and what little head there is quickly and totally settles. Minimal lacing, but the brew leaves oily streaks on the side of the glass. 3.25/5

Smell: Very smooth, no booziness. Vanilla, caramel, stale hops, and smooth/sweet bourbon notes. Some oakiness too. 3.5/5

Taste: Taste is much better than the nose. This brew practically smacks you over the head with delicious vanilla flavor with notes of caramel, cocoa and smooth bourbon. Less sweet than the nose led me to believe, but it's still a "sweet" (but not cloying) malty brew. I love the bold vanilla/caramel flavor of this brew! 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Full bodied, viscous, with minimal carbonation. Nice maltiness and a little stickiness. 4.25/5

Overall: The aroma and appearance were not anything particularly special, but the taste was divine. While not the most complex barrel aged beer, I loved how bold the vanilla and caramel flavors were. I think this is drinking about as perfect as it will get (in act, the nose was a little stale from the faded hops), and I do not see this benefiting from further aging. It tastes like how 100% Cuir is currently drinking with less complexity. Open your bottles now!

Cost: $12 for a 22 oz (bomber) bottle.

Beer Review: 50°N - 4°E

Reviewing the 50°N - 4°E from Brasserie Cantillon out of Belgium.

Score: 85

2013 vintage bottle served in an Upland snifter and enjoyed on 05/18/13. Review is from iPhone notes

Appearance: Pours a murky golden color with a thin layer of head that quickly settles to a pencil-thin ring around the glass. Below average retention, but good lacing. 4/5

Smell: Resinousy citrus, the traditional Cantillon dustiness, oak, lemon zest and a hint of vinegar. Some "hop familiar" qualities too, but not "hoppy." 4.25/5

Taste: Not very tart at all, more saison-like than what I expected. Not in your face intense with flavor either, but complex with delicate funky qualities. There is a solid medley of lemon zest, ample cognac, oak, mineral water, and a little earthy funk and plastic in finish. Has some flavor similarities to Cantillon's Classic Gueuze sans the tartness, but reminds me more of the Bruocsella (1900) Grand Cru. As it warms up, it gets slightly tarter and gains a distinct vinousness and fermented grape flavor. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Medium-light bodied, minimal carbonation. Light tartness. Vinous. 3.5/5

Overall: A solid beer that did not live up to its reputation for me. I was expecting something much different -- something more flavorful, carbonated, tart and less earthy. This brew reminded me of a vinous Bruocsella (1900) Grand Cru by the time it warmed up. While the complex delicateness was nice, I found this brew lacking in comparison to most other Cantillons I have had. I was quite glad for the opportunity to tick this one, but 50°N - 4°E is not a beer I would seek out in hindsight.

Cost: $30 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Barrel Aged Alpha Klaus With Raspberries

Reviewing the Barrel Aged Alpha Klaus With Raspberries from Three Floyds Brewing Company out of Munster, Indiana.

Score: 84

2012 vintage bottle served in a GLASS and enjoyed on 06/04/13.

Appearance: Pours a coffee color with two fingers of beige head that settles to a thin coating and ring around glass. Good lacing and retention. Pretty typical porter appearance. 4/5

Smell: Raspberry, raw chocolate and faded hops. Some generic berry jamminess too. Alcohol presence is faintly noticeable. There is a light amount of brown sugar, oak and licorice in the mix too. The barrel character present in the nose is very minimal. As this beer warms up, the berry jamminess increases in intensive, and the aroma approaches that of a Bramble knock off at room temperature. 4.25/5

Taste: Faint hops, milk chocolate, brown sugar, and a hint of vanilla upfront. Then the raspberry jamminess kicks in which is nice at first, but then an odd stale hops flavor kicks in towards the finish and derails this brew. There is a minimal amount of faded barrel character. I really like the interplay of the chocolate and raspberry notes here, but the stale hops flavor in the finish is not pleasant and it overrides the quality "upfront" flavors of the brew. As the beer warms up, the stale hoppiness fades some, more milk chocolate and some oak comes through, and the raspberries flavor becomes slightly tart in a good way. Notes of cocoa too. I am not a fan of the oak presence at room temperature. 3.5/5

Mouthfeel: Just shy of medium bodied. This brew is over carbonated, and it kills the mouthfeel. Not very dry for a porter, mildly sticky and sweet. I like the berry acidity and sweetness here in tandem with the bitter notes. 2/5

Overall: The over-carbonation and stale hops/oakiness kill what would otherwise be a nice Bramble-like porter. Perhaps this was better fresh?

Cost: $20 for a 750 ml bottle.

Beer Review: L'Brett D'Or

Reviewing the L'Brett D'or from the Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project out of Denver, Colorado.

Score: 97

2012 vintage bottle served in a Perennial snifter/tulip hybrid glass and enjoyed on 06/04/13.

Appearance: Pours a murky and translucent dull golden color with a thin layer of off-white head. The color is not as vibrant as the dry hopped version. Average lacing and retention. 4/5

Smell: Sour juiciness! Sour orange, lemon juice, apricot, peach and white grape. Smells like tropical citrus juice that is slightly infected. Has a strong nexus in aroma with the dry hopped version, but without the hop character and a less "intense"/in-your-face citrusiness. Touch of straw, hint of alcohol, and a touch of funk too. 4.75/5

Taste: Tastes just like it smells. Sour citrus juice. Juicy juicy juicy! A little more apricot and peach forward than nose. Tastes like tart, bretted tropical Minute Maid juice. Dry oak flavor in the finish. A little lacto and lemon. Quite very tart. Has a little bit of funk and plastic flavor in finish, which was not present in the dry hopped version. 4.5/5

Mouthfeel: Light plus bodied, low carbonation. Very tart. Dry on the sides of the gums but less dry on tongue. The tartness of this brew makes the tip of the tongue tingle. 5/5

Overall: One of my absolute favorite American sours. It is quite similar to the dry hopped version, which takes the citrus intensity to the next level. I wish I had more of these! I will have to stock up during the next release.

Cost: $10 for a 375 ml bottle.

Beer Review: Blåbær

Reviewing the infamous Blåbær from Brasserie Cantillon out of Belgium.

Score: 96

2012 vintage bottle served in a GLASS and enjoyed on 05/07/13. Review is from iPhone notes

Appearance: Pours a lovely Byzantium/blueberry color with a thin layer of thistle colored head. The color of the head looks like what you'd expect on the label of a fancy bath product. Average lacing, excellent retention. I adore the color on this brew! 4.5/5

Smell: Sweet and jammy blueberries mixed with that classic "Cantillon dust" aroma you get with all their other beers. Not very sour-apparent on the nose. Hint of vinegar too. Not very complex, but extremely appealing. Maybe I am just a sucker for blueberries? 4.5/5
Taste: Sweet/jammy and slightly acidic blueberries with a nice light tartnesses towards the finish. Some of that "Cantillon dust" flavor throughout as well. Drying tartness, makes for a very interesting mouthfeel. Like the nose, the taste is not very complex, but what it delivers is quite delicious! 4.75/5

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied, good carbonation. Sweet fruitiness and mildly acidic. Dry finish. 4.5/5

Overall: I found this brew to be absolutely delicious (albeit not overly complex), but as many have pointed out before me, this is not Cantillon's best beer (let alone their best lambic). I would absolutely love to try this one again, but it us not worth jumping through all the hoops one has to jump through in order to obtain a bottle when Fou Foune, St. Lamvinus, Vigneronne and Lou Pepe Kriek are at least as good, cheaper and easier to obtain. I'd recommend folks who have not had this beer before give it a try, as I found this beer to be world class; however, I would likewise recommend that such folks seek out a bottle with a group of friends so as to share the burden of the premium it'll take to obtain.

Cost: 46€ (approximately $60 USD) for a 750 ml bottle, 23€ (approximately $30 USD) for a 375ml bottle.