Casta Castaña
Especialidades Cerveceras S.A. de C.V.

Dark brown, great head, lace in glass. Cantillon and boozy aroma. Strong carbonation. Strong ale licorice taste. Some hops.Cherry and other fruit campote. Finishes sweet, cocoa, with brown sugar. two-for-two from this Mexican brewery.Thanks KidPresentable.

served in the Ommegang wide-mouthed chalice... bottle #1252

This latest selection from the Michael Jackson tour-de-bier is another interesting, complex journey in taste.

Appearance- pours a creamy, smooth ruby reddish brown (like a spiced hot apple cider) with a full 2" head that will not quit. Lovely retention and sporadic lacing reminiscent of islands in the South-Pacific. The second pour, one half-hour later, leaves behind a fluffier head with larger, denser bubbles that softly pop and hiss their way into submission.

Smell- Initially sour apples and other fruit, with a heavy dose of yeast on the nose. As the beer warms a bit, a nutty character slowly moves in. This reminds me of a beer called Aged Petrus Pale that I sampled two years ago from the BeerTour... an almost fermented character reminiscent of a Belgian strain of yeast. Finally, after 45 minutes, the malt is now present. A nice ride!

Taste- Orange peel came first, then the chestnut/hazelnut flavors. The alcohol (8.5%) is now making a bee-line to my head, as I notice the overall warming in my legs and chest. Did I mention this arrived at my door in a cork-finished 750ml?

Mouthfeel/Drinkability- Like a Belgian Abbey Ale, this displays a *burp* crispness typical of the hops and malts used here. If you can find this, treat yourself to a beer from this truly exceptional brewery and, as always,

"Drink responsibly... your reputation is at stake."

POP!, goes the cork, and we're ready to pour, but the olfactory senses are treated from the start, with a rich, pungent, yeasty, typical Belgian aroma invading the atmosphere....let's get it in a glass...
nutty brown color, crimson edges, under a huge, fizzy tan head, anxiously active, swiftly collapsing, leaving a slight ring, ultimately.
Aroma is that of a brown ale, tinged with cola notes, caramel tones, just short of richness, sweet but substantial.
Taste: mellow, with flavors of chocolate, dark fruits, nuts, and herbs. Light hoppiness, tasty malt. Intriquing effort from this Mexican artisanal brewery. Medium -bodied, with a soft, fruity finish. Lands lightly on the tongue with each new sip, a brew with character and integrity. completely captures the essence of a Belgian brown. Smooth, and delcious. Roast and toast are at play in the flavor, but are well-rounded out, giving an integrated cohesion, like I said before..."mellow."
Quite a nice accomplishment from Casta.

Authoritative gunsmoky blast comes from this thick bottle. Pillowy, mocha mousse follows into the glass with brown, hazy liquid. A subtle willowy dry fragrance of white pepper and breadcrumbs yields finally to shadings of vanilla and cream aromas. Dry, tangy roasted twigs flavors keep milky, chocolate and cinnamon fruits dry and appealing. Adjacent elements of toffee, acorn oils and tobacco hands. The finish is rustic and hard edged, with resiny wood tannins tightening down with some force.

I finished the bottle on day #2 and, though the fizz was gone, the flavors were intact and

A strange, complicated MEXICAN beer. Cola brown with a lingering, foamy cream head.

When served fairly chilled, I couldn't avoid the comparisons to salted, smoked meat, roasted with a carmelized, crusty exterior. A sort of savory cumin, coriander spiciness arose as well. And I didn't get much from the flavor other than smokey, dry wood and a grassy bitterness.

As it warmed, however, the meat faded and allowed a more malty, caramel sweetness to emerge, full of chocolate, cinnamon, and other, more luscious, sweet aromas. Fruit began to play a more prominent role with plum skin/raisin and some more spiciness leading into that same grassy bitterness.

Just a tad too strange for me to enjoy drinking regularly or in any substantial quantity.

Part of Casta's Única series of beers. Bottle # 1665
750 ml bottle direct from the Michael Jackson Rare Beer club.
Poured into a Rapscallion goblet. Pours a deep chesnut color, some red hues mixed with caramel coloring. A very pleasant beer to look at. The head is just a shade off of white and rather full. Retention isn't spectacular, but lacing is nice and the collar makes up for any lack of staying power on the part of the head.
The smell is absolutely wonderful. Sweet roasted malt along with ripe fruits (grapes, cherries, plums). A little caramel, some crusty bread and just a little bit nutty.
Taste is very much like the aroma. This brew is a lot more bitter than I would have imagined from the smell. All of those things mentioned in the nose, are still there, but they are joined by a very nice spicy hop bite that balances this one out quite well. There is also a bit of alcohol heat in the finish.
Carbonation and the combination of sweet/bitter balance out very well in this beer. I could see myself saving another one of these for a special occasion, but since this is such a rare beer I can't imagine having this more than once in a very long while. I would be interested in seeing how this beer ages a bit as well. The hops are maybe even too bitter at times, but I think that with a little age under it's belt, this beer could easily wind up being straight 5s.