12
ounce draft pour into a snifter. 8.9%
ABV. Served a little too cold, but
allowed to warm up some.
Appearance: Deep, stained, cherry wood body with ruby
highlights. A few scant bubbles grace
the surface. Brilliantly clear with low
carbonation. Very pretty beer (5/5).
Aroma: My nose is immediately struck with a
coordinated attack of booze and cherries.
Forcefully rich. My blood sugar
is starting to go up and I haven’t even consumed any of it yet. The cherry is so intense that it almost
smells artificial. I may even let
someone talk me into thinking that this was spiked with cherry cough syrup (4/5).
Taste: Tastes like cherries soaked in bourbon for
several months with a rich, bready malt to provide a foundation. There is an astringent bitterness and a touch
of wood, which combines with the cherry flavor create the perception of chewing
on cherry pits. And the nose did not
oversell the sweetness. It’s all in
there (3.5/5).
Mouthfeel: Warm and astringent. Medium body and light carbonation. The astringency is a bit off-putting (3/5).
Overall: This isn’t a bad “Ale”, but I think it’s
missing its “Old”. I don’t know when
this beer was brewed, but I’m guessing it’s young. If my theory is correct, and this beer was
given some time, I think that the astringency would mellow out some and it
would become far more drinkable. Maybe
that intense cherry sweetness would round out a little bit on the edges as
well. As it is, it’s good but not
great. I finished my pint, but I
definitely would not order another (3.5/5).
-Matt
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