Chilly Invierno
Freetail Brewing Company

 

 

 

Bottle shared by Grant – much obliged!

The bottle gushes open, belying the infection inside. It pours one shade from black with a large off-white head. The head quickly recedes into a wispy layer on top leaving light lacing.

Smells of roasted malts with hints of semi-sweet chocolate and large amounts of spicy chili peppers. Also present are very slight hints of vinegar and dark fruits.

Tastes more infected than it smells, though still not terribly so. Lightly roasted malt flavors kick things off and are joined quickly by large chili pepper flavors. Midway through the sip hints of unsweetened chocolate flavors come into play before the chili pepper flavors take over and carry through to a moderately bitter ending, leaving burning lingering on the palate.

Mouthfeel is not good. It’s got a decent thickness however the carbonation is way too active.

Drinkability is also not very good. The flavors themselves aren’t offensive however the chili peppers become too obtrusive after a few sips.

Overall this beer was much better when I had it on-tap at the brewpub – the infection didn’t do it any favors, but even underneath everything it seemed as though the hotness was more intense in the bottle version.

Just writing this to say the bottle I opened last night was slightly infected. If anyone has any bottles left, I would check them.

The infection added a slightly sour note, which actually wasnt that bad, but it really didn't mix well with the other flavors.

Bottle: i like limited release bottles from Freetail but this scares me a bit ..

Pours a dark tan brown, light whiffs of white foam- head dies down to nothing..
Aroma of wet compost, dried chilli, used coffee grounds from last week, and dirty used barrel a homeless man yelled in..

Taste is wacky! tar, chiili, and burning with lots of sourness- the bad kind- this is getting infected nicely.. . gay .. heartburn here we come! .. . muddled mouthfeel...

A rare and complete miss (mess) from the guys at Freetail, but still happy to have tried this interesting experiment ..

Say car Ram-Rod!!

22 oz bomber bought at the release party a couple weeks ago. Pours a dark brown color with a few reddish highlights. Nice cap of tan foam that shows average retention and a decent amount of lacing.

Roasty, cocoa nose with a little bit of spicy heat, like green chiles and chipotle. Little bit of vegetable matter spread over some coffee beans. Light sourness.

Unfortunately this beer is infected with lacto. Sourness shows up in the flavor already after only a couple weeks in the bottle. I called the brewery and this is indeed what happened. I am glad it is lacto though instead of pedio. I actually kinda like the sourness, but I dont think it is as good as the beer would have been without it. How often do you get to drink a dark sour Belgian ale with spicy, peppery heat? I can still finish this bomber pretty easily.

A: Pours a dark brown, almost black color. There are some reddish tints around the edges of the glass. At first a two finger dirty white colored head forms that fades in an instant. Some light lace.
S: Really not much in the nose. Some milk chocolate and sweet malt. Lightly toasted. Just kind of neutral overall.
T: Lightly toasted and sweet malt. Some milk chocolate that is a bit bitter. Some lacto sourness even. Acrid, ground coffee beans that have been sitting around for a day. The spicy chilies really come out as this warms up. Nothing meshes right at all.
M/D: A lighter body than I would like. A bit thin and watery. The odd mix of flavors makes this hard to drink.

A big miss from Freetail. A bit odd and not very well incorporated. I would not recommend this.