Verchuosity
The Livery

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ditmier pulled out this heavy hitter at a recent tasting... Wow!! Surprised to see this one...

Slight eggshell head... deep red.. no real lacing and a descent cap given the huge ABV....

Funky nose and tons of fruit... only mildly acetic ... sour cherry juice.. has some woody tannins..

Flavor is chock full of heavy cherries... lactic notes and cherry skins combine with some funk to make a wonderful palate.. very surprised there is little alcohol.... reminds me more of cherry wine... or what I think chokecherry wine would taste like.. woody tannins show with alot of warmth.. the EtOH does too, but only mildly... Medium body with only a lite carbonation... Very nice... I am amazed this is supposed to be 14%..

3.5/4/4.5/4/4

Thanks again Eric.... I've had my eye on this one for a while, but never even tried to pull the trigger... You're a stud.

A - Pours dark pekoe tea, clumpy off white lace. Pretty to look at, clumpier as it waits. Eventually to a disk.

S - Sours cherries. Get the wood too. A little astringent though.

T - Same as the smell. It is a sour, but it goes too far south, IMO. Tastes and smells a LITTLE like merthiolate. Not really pleasing in the end, even though it has promise.

M - Fairly creamy, good balance. Good carb.

D - Big bottle, will try to finish without thinking about that red stuff my parents put on my boo boos when I was a kid.

Bottle opened by weeheavysd on 12/19/2009 and poured into a snifter. The beer is reddish brown with a one finger beige head.

The nose is woody, with notes of ripe cherries and light tannins. It reminds me a bit of cherry juice. Dark chocolate notes linger beneath.

The flavor is sweetish cherry juice with light tannins and notes of wood. For the high ABV, the alcohol is rather tame. Pretty good, but not terribly memorable.

A: Dark ruby red, hazy. A small pinkish head dissipates quickly.

S: Malts, sweet and tart berries and cherries. Perhaps some notes of oak.

T: Some fragile malts with subtle yet prominent berry aromas and cherries. Gentle citric notes. A slightly vinous character. The flavor is mostly a mix of sweet and acidic fruitiness. Some notes of oak barrel and vanilla. The finish is tart with notes of cherries and alcohol.

M: Medium body with a medium carbonation.

D: This is actually quite good. Great to see such a well achieved combination of high alcohol and tart cherry flavors. Despite the high ABV, it's actually quite refreshing. I have another bottle of this in the cellar and it should be interesting to see how it is in a year or so.

Appearance: Pours a near opaque, still, dark mahogany-hued body.

Smell: Richly-scented, fruity aroma of ripe, hand-picked cherries surrounded by notes of toasty malts, dark caramel, and even a drizzle of treacle.

Taste: Toasted malts with a sweet taste of dark caramel sauce and treacle. Plenty of tart, luscious cherry flavor throughout. There's some lightly tannic cedar-like wood qualities contained within. Splash of black cherry wine. Drying, warming finish with lingering tastes of tart cherries.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium-high carbonation.

Drinkability: Intense, complex, and good. A real winner from The Livery.

Draft sample at brewpub.

Poured reddish brown color and an average fizzy off-white head that mostly diminished with fair lacing. Moderate to heavy tart cherry fruit and woody aroma. Medium body with lively carbonation. Medium tingly tart cherry flavor with a medium tart cherry finish of moderate duration.

Refreshing change of pace standout fruit beer.

Burgundy colored resembling blood even. Feelins of vampires flicks are hard to withold. No head but I've never seen carbonated blood.

Rose petals, black cherry, wood, orange, dark malt with a flroal finish and an ever so slight hint of vanilla.

Wood at the forefront with full cherry. Tart and crisp with moderate acidity. Other dark fruits bordering on berry and blood orange with a floral violet finish. Nice wood tannins throughout but could have been creamier to the middle.