Collaborative Evil 2009 - Pinot Noir Barrel Aged
Oakshire Brewing

On tap at Bier Stein during their recent "Wood, Sweat and Beers" event.

The beer pours a slight hazy, bright gold color with pretty good head retention and lacing. The nose is great in this beer, with the subtle pinot/wine flavor intermixing well with the clove, lighy dry citrus and honey. The flavor profile replicates the nose pretty closely in this complex beer, with the light hoppy, bitter finish acting as a nice foil to the intial modest sweetness. There's a light sour component as well, but thankfully it's not all that pronounced at this stage in the beer's life. This beer reminds me of some of the better Belgian IPA's I've had, though the bitterness isn't quite that pronounced. Mouthfeel is medium bodied at most, and finish was long and fairly dry. Alcohol is very well integrated into the flavor profile, with this beer drinking more lke a 6% or 7% abv. beer, as opposed to a 9.5% beer.

Very nice beer from Oakshire and probably my favorite of the barrel aged beer even at the Stein.

On-tap at Strong Ale

A: The pour is a cloudy golden color with a nice fluffy head that's just a bit off of white and some nice lacing.

S: Smells like slightly tart fruits such as green apples, grapes, and pears. A good spicy note to it as well, but it's sort of a mild, estery spice quality. A touch of oak and wine are present as well.

T: The flavor is very dry and almost cidery. Lots of apple and pear flavors which do provide a mild sweetness. A touch of spicy oak and wine as well as some nice tannic qualities. A fair amount of bretty yeast flavors as well.

M: The body is maybe a bit on the light side, with a fairly high level of carbonation and a dry finish.

D: Not everyone at the festival was a big fan of this one, but I quite liked it. A nice funked up (even if unintentionally) Belgian beer that worked out quite well.