Aureus
Strange Roots Experimental Ales

AureusAureus
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From:
Strange Roots Experimental Ales
 
Pennsylvania, United States
Style:
Belgian Pale Strong Ale
ABV:
8%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.8 | pDev: 15.53%
Reviews:
20
Ratings:
55
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jun 08, 2017
Added:
Jan 01, 2012
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  9
No description / notes.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by SaintD:
Photo of SaintD
Reviewed by SaintD

4.31/5  rDev +13.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Slightly cloudy, but it's bottle conditioned, with a full creamy head. Aromas of banana, orange and Belgian yeast esters...Beautiful! This beer is well attenuated, but doesn't necessarily clear the pallet. The esters linger slightly with an overall creaminess...all around great beer. Very impressive and definetly one of the better beers around. Can't wait to experience the other offerings from this brewery.
Jul 18, 2012
More User Ratings:
Photo of Lone_Freighter
Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont

3.89/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a bronzed yellow sort of color to it. Finger’s worth of white foamy head that fell off at a moderate pace. Slight stringy lace. The aroma had some banana, peach, vanilla, sweet wood, grassiness, subtle funk/sour, bleu cheese/basement/old sweatsock, leather, light earthiness/dried leaves and ended with a semi-sour to sweet grassy character. The flavor had the fruitiness meld with the vanilla to lead into the sweet wood. Light herbal quality and bubblegum come in to lighten the funkiness. Aftertaste softened towards the previously mentioned tastes. Finished somewhat funky yet sour with an ample sweetness. The palate was about medium bodied with a clean sipping quality about it. Carbonation felt fine. ABV felt good. Overall, what style was this supposed to be? Hell if I know, hell if I care, just damn good.
Jun 08, 2017
Photo of woodychandler
Reviewed by woodychandler from Pennsylvania

3.83/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75
It was difficult to contain my excitement when the FGBS initially began receiving distro from this Pittsburgh-area brewery, so I purchased what was then available & subsequently added to them. It was never my intent to create a Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, but its eradication allows me the opportunity to conduct horizontals as I go. I am finding the results to be VERRRRY interesting & not at all stupid, per Arte Johnson of "Laugh-In".

From the bottle: "Ale Brewed with Orange Peel and Vanilla Beans"; "Wild by Design"; "Original Gravity: 17.5 (deg.) P (1.072 S.G.)"; "Apparent Degree of Attenuation: 86%"; "Made With: Orange Peel, Vanilla Beans"; "Mmm, can you taste those vanilla notes? No. You can't. During fermentation, we add enough beans to create a distinctly creamy head texture, but not enough to distract from the predominant banana and citrus flavors of this robust golden strong ale."

As with some of their previous beers, I am going to perform two separate pours, one leaving the lees in the bottle, the second with the lees swirled in.

I Pop!ped the cap & conducted a VERY gentle pour, given the presence of lees in every other one of their beers thus far. An in-glass swirl produced two fingers of fizzy, foamy, bone-white head with low retention, quickly falling away to wisps. Color was Golden-Amber (SRM = > 5, < 7) with just the faintest haze, which could be attributed to chill, as I keep my reefer on the cool side, or to a modicum of lees leaching into the pour, although I thought that I had been careful. Nose definitely smelled of oranges, but with a little bit of underlying funk. Did they use Brett in this one, also? The label did not indicate such, but who knows with these guys. Mouthfeel was kind of thin, but with a good bit of carbonation. The initial taste was quite citrusy, with loads of lemon and orange, making for a very tart, puckering drink. I did not get the banana esters that the label mentioned, but conversely, the vanilla started to become evident & when paired with the orange flavor, it reminded me of a Creamsicle/Dreamsicle from when I was a kid. The finish was tart & dry and I really think that Brett was used in the process at some level. This was certainly an interesting drink.

Now, for the second pour to release the lees back into suspension. Now, I got a finger of foamy, bone-white head that actually lasted! Color was a murky Amber (SRM = > 7, < 9). Nose still had that Dreamsicle/Creamsicle quality, but the barnyard funk of Brett was also very noticeable. Mouthfeel was mow thin-to-full. The taste was a little more tart & less orangey and more lemony. Finish was very dry and vinous.
Mar 30, 2017
Photo of thebeers
Reviewed by thebeers from Pennsylvania

4.17/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Vibrant, hazed, pale orange with a finger of frothy off-white head that's pretty quick to dissipate, leaving heavy sheets of lacing. Big sour aroma with a definite orange profile. If there's any vanilla it's far behind. Fairly thick bodied and full feeling. It's not super creamy, but creamy for the style. It also leaves a nice prickliness on the tongue. The sourness assault in the nose seems a bit more refined in the taste, but only somewhat so. The orange is slightly less prevalent, too, but sour citrus is what stands out. There's also a sweet, understated malt flavor to it, too. I'm digging it. This is a pretty great beer.
Jul 19, 2016
 
Rated: 4.16 by burnstar from Pennsylvania

Jul 10, 2016
Photo of sulldaddy
Reviewed by sulldaddy from Connecticut

4.34/5  rDev +14.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
Sampling a cellar temp bottle poured into a snifter. The beer was purchased on a trip to PA a few months ago and has been in my cellar since.
The beer pours a clear copper color with several active streams of bubbles rising to the surface and popping immediately after arrival. the head is very fizzy and off white and also disappears almost immediately after the pour.
the aroma is sweet and fruity with some green apple and orange notes. I also get some floral hits and a bit of bready yeast. I pour the last couple MLs into my glass with a hazy beige gush. The beer is much more cloudy now and the aroma is a lot sweeter orange and the yeast is more like a scone now. As the label promises I dont get any vanilla bean.
The first sip reveals lots of sweet orange and a bit of cereal malt. The body is smooth textured and not very thick but the carbonation is fine and fairly prickly on my tongue.
Very easy to drink with no hints of the ABV anywhere on this beer. the sweet flavor lingers a bit and some banana does make an appearance in conjunction with the heavy orange presence.
Again no vanilla, which is fine as it may make the beer a little cloying if there was anymore sweetness here.
No hop presence nor booze, and this easy drinking bigger beer is a nice one and would be good on a hot day or a cool night. I enjoy it and will be searching out other beers from this brewery now.
Jun 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.04 by madelf66 from Pennsylvania

May 29, 2016
 
Rated: 3.93 by BeerForMuscle from New Jersey

May 23, 2016
Photo of DIM
Reviewed by DIM from Pennsylvania

4.12/5  rDev +8.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
I am intrigued by the idea of using vanilla beans not for flavor or aroma, but for a creamier body. American interpretations of Belgian styles and wild ales are often too aggressively fizzy for my taste. While I didn't notice a creamier head (per the label) I did find the body to be pleasingly soft and creamy. Very cool Draai Laag!

The beer itself was very good. The citrus was extremely prominent, masking a lot of the yeasty phenols. I also need to say that I love the 500ml format and the price point. I am looking forward to more from Draai Laag, hopefully closer to Lancaster.
May 16, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by micropale from Pennsylvania

Apr 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4.08 by Knapp85 from Pennsylvania

Apr 24, 2016
 
Rated: 4.06 by J455K from Pennsylvania

Apr 02, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by BigRizz62 from Maryland

Mar 27, 2016
Photo of Immortale25
Reviewed by Immortale25 from North Carolina

3.38/5  rDev -11.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Poured into a Duvel tulip. No freshness date.

A- Pours a hazy orangeish medium amber color with a 1/4 inch off-white head that soon subsides to a thin ring around the edge of the glass and not much lacing to speak of. Not-so-resilient lacing leaves small clots behind.

S- Fruity phenols from the yeast and a noticeable booze presence. Generic wheat malt.

T- Orange peel is front and center bringing with it lots of tangy fruitiness. The yeast and wheat are there but are easily overpowered by all that orange peel. Easy enough to drink if you like intense orange a la Shock Top. Vanilla only really comes through in the aftertaste.

M- Again, tangy to the point of almost being tart. Medium-low carbonation where there should be more given the style and a lightish body.

O- Though it hides the alcohol well, getting past the orange peel which dominates the flavor profile is a bit of a challenge. Everything else about the beer is pretty meh as well. My first beer by this brewery and it will most likely also be my last unless I hear reason to give them another shot.
Mar 26, 2016
 
Rated: 3.79 by ArtAttackEd from Pennsylvania

Mar 02, 2016
 
Rated: 3.83 by baconfromwalmart from Pennsylvania

Feb 24, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by Rojada1988 from Pennsylvania

Jan 07, 2016
 
Rated: 4.26 by geodonnokepyo from Pennsylvania

Aug 01, 2015
 
Rated: 4.24 by brother_rebus from Maine

Jul 18, 2015
 
Rated: 3.82 by Mnteti from Delaware

Jul 16, 2015
Aureus from Strange Roots Experimental Ales
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 55 ratings