Score: 70
2014 vintage bottle served in a stemmed Perennial wine glass and enjoyed on 06/23/14.
Appearance: Pours a translucent dark ruby color with a light purplish tinge with a half finger of cream color head that settles to a thick ring around the glass. Very good lacing and retention. 4.5/5
Smell: Graham crackers, strawberry jam and grape! Light oak and little raspberry too. Underneath the fruit character is a lactic acid backbone that is not too intense, but adds a nice zestiness and boldness to the nose. This beer reminds me of a better Madame Rose. I absolutely love the graham cracker and strawberry here! As it warms up, the nose sadly loses a little bit of its zing and brightness. Nonetheless, it remains pretty appealing. 4.5/5
Taste: Less lacto on taste than the nose, with the lacto character mostly limited to the finish. Strawberry seed jamminess, oak and grape upfront with a little vanilla too. Finishes with an unpleasantly funky rubber band flavor with unfortunate lasting power. The upfront flavor is really nice, but this beer leaves you with a lastingly, unpleasant taste in your mouth. As it warms, the funkiness softens a bit, but at the expense of some tartness and in tandem with an exacerbation of its under-carbonation. Based on the reviews and reputation of this beer, maybe I got an "off" bottle? 3/5
Mouthfeel: Thin-medium bodied, under-carbonated. Dry finish. Lasting funkiness. 2/5
Overall: Excellent smell and a good flavor absolutely marred by a unpleasantly funky finish and under-carbonation. Bottle variation? Maybe. But given the hype I'll stick to their more consistent bottles.
Cost: $15 for a 750 ml bottle.
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