This review is part of the ongoing “The Brux Project” at I think about beer. To read the details, follow this link: The Brux Project.
Bottle no. 7? That means I’ve now finished half a case of beer. It also means 3 years of cellar time and patient, regularly timed reviews. This has been both a fun project and an educational one. It’s required a lot of patience to not dig into these great beers, but fortunately I enjoy the delayed gratification of seeing what will happen with the sequels.
It’s been a study in time and yeast. Needless to say, it’s imspired me to put down some other bottles for regular tasting. Of course, don’t do this with just any beer. Do your research first before you kill some tasty beers and waste some money.
Appearance:Hazy, dirty gold, off-white head, ok retention that disappears after a bit.
Aroma: Banana creme, spice, orange pith, light funk, cracker notes, bigger citrus notes as the beer warms up.
Taste: Tart, spicy, orange creamsicle, touch of graininess, light caramel, touch of sweetness.
Overall Impression: After 3 years, there’s a very nice underlying tartness to the beer. Not “sour” “pucker” tartness, but the refreshing type that leaves you lightly salivating and balances out the rest of the flavors. This gives this big, high alcohol beer a crisp and refreshing nature that is quite pleasant at this stage of its development. The mouthfeel is both creamy and velvety and leads into a medium/long finish.
This may be the most integrated bottle I’ve tasted so far. It’s soft, subtle, complex, and somehow tastes “new.” The carbonation and head retention have improved over the last several bottles. There was a pretty good hiss when I released the cork. The brett is continuing to work away and with no were to escape, the CO2 is becoming more refined in the bottle. If you have a bottle under similar conditions to my cellar, you wouldn’t be remiss in opening one. It’s been a great beer, but now it’s truly beautiful. I’d say I’m going to hold out another 6 months before opening the next bottle. This one tasted so fresh and lively that I think the brett still has plenty of time and space to continue developing beer.
Cellar: If your curious about what the conditions are that I’ve been keeping the bottles at, check out the link above to The Brux Project to see how I’m storing it. If you’re storing yours warmer, it may be a bit further in its progression than mine. If it’s cooler, a bit less.
Availability: Probably gone from stores. I’ve seen it show up in some “vintage” sales.
8.3% ABV
