Cellar Blender
New Belgium Brewing Company

4.3/5  rDev +8.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: ruby-brown, but ruby-orange when held to light. Wonderfully bright. The head is composed of light-tan microfine bubbles which fades quickly to a collar.

Aroma: stone fruit, sweet; jelly like, blackberry. This smells just like Duchesse. Very nice.

Flavor: dark cherry and stone fruit. Sour but not overly so. Well balanced. Clean finish. Roeselare yeast strain characteristics through and through.

Mouthfeel: the lightest side of medium. Nothing spectacular, but exactly as it needs to be.

Overall: excellent. This is NBB’s best beer by far, and very accurate to the style: think Duchesse or Rhodenbach. I hope NBB realizes that when they return to their roots, they brew winners. I would buy this beer repeatedly if it were sold individually and not just in a sample pack mixed in with NBB’s experimental losers.

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3.78/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

I find it hard to believe that I've now Had 30 of a style that I don't particularly like... and rarely will have again.
But Cellar Blender could be different... if New Belgium brews it again... as I tend to like those guys.

Actually, a handsome beer; brown with burgundy tinges. Smells of fruit, hints of malt and faint notes of acidity. Unfortunately (and this just may be my problem with the style), the faint notes take over the attack and the middle palate. Sour is not for me, but Cellar Blender finishes dry; indicating to me that, for the style, this is well-crafted.
Had with soup and it paired well.

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3.94/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

Attractive red brown color with pinkish white cap and lace.

Aroma of wood, heavy dark fruit and sour cherries.

Flavor is very tart and very sour, yet pleasingly rich and complex. What is get is mostly the dark fig, sour cherry thing intermingled with wood in a layered complexity which comes across as a rounded whole.

Medium texture with balancing carbonation.

If you like sour ale I believe you'll like this. I certainly like it but pretty much any Red Flanders goes down well with me.

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4.58/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5

Dont know if it was just me but very similar to Lags Dark Swan. Nice dark colors, little bubbly and sourish with the dark cherry woodsy taste. A very good beer.

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3.99/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

12oz. bottle. Poured out a dark brown color with a small, tan head of foam. It smelled of sour black cherry, lemon and some oak. Sour and tart with a strong cherry presence and a hint of sweetness for balance.

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4.08/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

-clear red-brown bottle pour with a thin tan layer of fine foam. There is a light aroma of wood and vinegar. The flavors include fig and dried plums, currants and grapes with a distinct oak back. This finish is a bit thin, but pleasantly acetic. I like this quite a bit.

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4.18/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

12 oz bottle out of the blender variety pack- Pours clear ruby red with a small white head that reduces to a collar immediately. The aroma is dark fruits, vinegar, tart almost to the point of burning the nostrils. The taste is mouth puckering sour, dark fruits, vinegary, wood, this is high end sour, surprising it is in a variety pack, although it does taste a bit like an unrefined sour, that needs to be blended, which i think is the point with this beer. Now to see how it blends with some of their other beers.

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4.06/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Part of a Kroger mix a six. Never had an actual CRAFT attempt from New Belgium so we'll see what we get. Not expecting much.

Look - Like cranberry juice but a touch darker. Two finger purplish head that dies down to a thick ring. High carbonation with a nice smack of stick upon a finished glass.

Smell - Cranberry with that typical basement aspect. Poptart crust leaning towards a strawberry almost effect. Smells the profile.

Taste - Cranberry and cherries really dominate the palate as you're drinking. The funk is of course there and moderate as the way it typically goes with the style

Feel - Low carbonation in the mouth with a thin to moderate body. Swallows funky and easy.

Overall - Pretty standard wild ale. If you like the style then you'll like this beer. Wilds have become one of my new favorite things and I don't think I've ever had one that I would consider bad since a lot of them are quite similar if they don't include specific fruiting aspects. Solid. Try it.

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4/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

You need to be a fan of sours to really enjoy this. .... have this as your first beer of the day....or on a hot summer day....and you will like it if you are one of the aforementioned fans.

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4.03/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

12 oz. bottle poured into a wined glass. Pours a dark brown with a finger of mocha head. Offers good clarity and ruby highlights.

Moderate sourness on the nose along with some mixed fruit notes including dark cherry with a faint raspberry tone. Bit of dark malt/wood sneaks through at times. Taste is tart and mildly acidic with more fruit and some balancing sweet notes. Firm carbonation helps mask any sweetness and abv characters through the palate. Return of dark cherry on the finish. Enjoyable beer.

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4.27/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Labeled as a dark sour ale, it pours as one would hope. It looks nearly pitch black, but when held to light you'll notice it is the deepest tone of crimson to masquerade that appearance. A thin but lively khaki head dances above and leaves a smooth presence around the perimeter, with minimal lacing.

A wonderful blend of sweet and dark fruits, predominantly plum, are met by sharp and tart notes of sour cherries, oak, and spices. Cinnamon seems to leap out from underneath.

This is simply lovely. Dark cherries, plum, apricot, and raisins all blend and converge with clove, cinnamon, and oak in one tart blow. The flavor stays, and the spices linger.

It feels smooth at first, but is immediately met by a champagne bubbly feel. It is tart, and slightly on the sweet side. It coats the mouth with a residue feeling, and the alcohol warmth is barely noticeable.

This was an unexpected, but very welcomed surprise. I got Cellar Blender in a mix 12 pack and have to say this may be the best in it. It's not a face puckering nor earth shattering sour ale, but it's wonderfully drinkable and enjoyable for the lover of sours at any level. Cheers.

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4.08/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Look - impressed with how dark it is, super dark auburn color.
Smell - dark tart fruit like cherries and cranberries
taste - pretty tart cherry cranberry raspberry
feel - medium body, light carbonation
Overall - pretty good, funky tart sour

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1.39/5  rDev -65%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

If you are a fan of this style and variety, then read no further. Disregard my rating. Move on. Because I just found out the hard way that I may not be.
This is awful. “Hated it”... “Two thumbs down”. Trash. Garbage. Disgusting. I couldn’t finish it. I took three sips. Waited 5 minutes just to be sure I wasn’t crazy. One more sip and poured the rest down the drain. Without exaggeration, absolutely the worst beer I’ve ever had in my 50 year life. Glad that it came in a sampler case from New Belgium. If I’d bought it alone I’d return it.
Horrible.

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4.37/5  rDev +10.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Bought 12-pack sampler, and tried one by pouring it into a snifter. Beer pours a deep ruby/dark brown color with a 1" off white head. Smell is actually typical Belgian yeast and malt smell, which is surprising to me that I didn't detect any sour funk initially. Taste is of course Belgian yeast, and in addition, cherries! The taste of cherry is very well done, not too sour yet not too sweet-- just the right taste. Feel is medium, a little sticky, moderate carbonation, and finishes with a pleasant cherry aftertaste.

I really enjoyed this beer, reminded me of a Flanders Red Ale overall. Very drinkable too. I recommend this beer.

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4.07/5  rDev +2.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours a clear dark brown color. 1/3 inch head of an off-tan color. Good retention and decent lacing. Smells of sweet malt, yeast, slight ester, hint of alcohol, and wood. Fits the style of an American Wild Ale. Mouth feel is sharp and clean, with an average carbonation level. There is also a noticeable tartness. Tastes of sweet malt, yeast, slight ester, hint of alcohol, slight bacterial funk, and wood. Overall, average appearance and aroma, but better aroma and blend.

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4.1/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A- A very dark hazy brown with a slight head and minimum lacing.
A- A lots of fruit hints, slight tart and sourness.
T- The taste follows the nose with decent fruit flavors, nice tartness, and a light sourness.
M: A light bodied, nicely carbonated beer.
O: A good well balanced beer.

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4.11/5  rDev +3.5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Enjoyed as part of New Belgium’s “Blend Like A Brewer” 12-pack, tasted alone (not blended) for review.

Appearance: Rich, clean ruby, with a nice near-tan head.

Aroma: Tart fruit. Pleasing.

Taste: Rich fruit, and some definite wood in there. Really a tasty and well-done balance here, with tart berries and a subtle note of wood. Really, a highly enjoyable and superior sour ale that deserves better than to be seen as a “mixer”. I like it.

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4.24/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

12 ounce bottle poured into a globe glass

A: Pours dark brown with a tan colored head, no retention, slight lacing, lots of carbonation, some light does come through around the edges.

A: Lots of fruity notes like raspberries, cherries, cranberries, slight tartness, hint of oak from the wood, tannins, leather, black cherries, sourness, red wine, smells very nice.

T: Hit of cherry tartness along with a light sour note, oak comes through pretty strong and is present throughout the taste, red wines, grapes, berries, light leather, Balsamic vinegar, finish is very dry with cherries lingering along with oak and Balsamic notes in the finish.

M: Medium bodied, not as carbonated as it looks, very dry red wine like finish.

O: If you like dark sour beers with Balsamic notes, cherries, and oak, then you should try this. Lots of complexity and depth, it's balanced with fruitiness, oak, and sour notes.

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