Mo' Betta Bretta Clone
Appearance – Deep amber, very hazy despite the 60 degree serving temperature. Tremendous, moussey, white head, great retention and lacing.
Smell – Candy sweetness, starting to have some sherry oxidation. Minimal fruity esters, old brown apples most prominently.
Taste – Oxidation has really taken its toll on this one, muted flavors and mustiness. The funkiness is very subdued, earthy, more classic “Orval” than the tropical flavor it had when it was fresh.
Mouthfeel – Medium light, and nicely spritzy.
Drinkability & Notes – Tastes over the hill, not objectionable, just not fresh (it was brewed almost exactly a year ago). This will be the last tasting on this one unless one of my last few bottles tastes substantially better.
Mo' Betta Bretta Clone Cherry-Pino Noir-Vanilla
Appearance – Deep garnet, light haze. Light pink head which leaves sheets of lacing as it slowly falls. The red color has held up well since last summer, still beautiful.
Smell – Cherry Jolly Ranchers, slight tropical funk, still smells very fresh. The vanilla is integrated into the other flavors, but it seems to enhance the flavor of oak from the wine.
Taste – Good fruity tartness, decent cherry flavor, but it has blended with the wine losing its fresh edge making them seem richer and darker (like macerated berries).. Almost no funkiness, just a complex fruitiness in the aftertaste. The malt and hops are completely absent, they are just foundation for the other ingredients.
Mouthfeel – A bit of tannic astringency, not sure if it from the wine or the cherries. The body is medium with moderate carbonation. There is a bit of a coating after taste, a wine drinker might call it flabby, it may have needed a bit more acidity.
Drinkability & Notes – Terrific compared to the plain version, after seeing how oxidized it was I wanted to drink one of these in case it was fading as well. Not sure what acted as an antioxidant in this one (wine, cherries, vanilla) or if it was just the added acidity, but whatever it was this one tastes like it could have gone longer (sadly I believe this is the last bottle).
That Cherry MBBC2 sounds yummy!
ReplyDeleteI've stumbled on your blog after doing some reading on beeradvocate.com about wild fermentation.
I'm doing my very first (and very small) wild experiment right now. I left my gravity sample from my Colin's Colsch outside or in an open window (so it was out of direct sunlight) for a few days, hoping to "catch" something. Just this morning. about 36 hours later, I've just now got some small bubbles and foam appearing.
You've totally inspired me to try some more wild ales! Perhaps a Berliner Weisse next? I've also had the idea in the back of my head to make a "Devil's Fart" dark rye sour beer!