Score: 99
Bottle is from the spring of 2008. Served in a Cantillon
stemmed balloon glass and enjoyed on 11/16/13. Review is from iPhone notes.Appearance: Pours a cloudy amber color with yellowish hue highlights towards the edge of the body. Pours two to three fingers of white head that settle to a nice layer coating the top of the beer. Splotchy lacing, below average retention. 4/5
Smell: Oak, Brett, lemon, and then Bretty funky. The Brett qualities act like a book end on the nose. The funkiness is shockingly pleasant for a five year old beer, and not medicinal or crazy weird or present to the degree of being an "acquired pleasure" like a funky cheese would be. 5/5
Taste: Sour lemon, then wood and a light, familiar mustiness. Has a hint of mildew that adds a little something extra, without making the beer taste "off" or overly funky, like the magnum of 2004 Drie Fonteinen Oude Gueuze that we drank on my birthday this year. Light vanilla notes and a dash of vinegar too. Lingering lemon and wood in the finish. Has a nice level of tartness without being bracingly sour a la aged Beatification. Not nearly as complex as Mimosa, Izzy or CCK, but (1) is that really a fair comparison, and (2) Deviation nonetheless delivers big on taste and drinkability. 5/5
Mouthfeel: Medium-plus bodied with more carbonation that expected, though it does not come across as being "over carbonated." Feels quite "full bodied" for an American wild ale. Nice tartness, dry finish. 5/5
Overall: I have heard from numerous people that this beer is "over the hill", but be they wrong or this bottle ideally stored, this brew was magnificent. Even side-by-side with Mimosa, Cable Car Kriek and Izzy, this beer stacked up nicely. I wish I could obtain another that tasted exactly like this with relative ease. Drink 'em if you got 'em.
Cost: $20 for a 750 ml bottle (but good luck finding one at that price nowadays).
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