Skip's Sour Cherry Ale
Kuhnhenn Brewing Company

 

On tap at the Ginger Man last month, billed as "Sour Cherry Ale", so I'm guessing it's this beer. The review is taken from notes the night of, and the beer was a 12 oz pour in a tall, thin glass.

Kuhnhenn's Sour Cherry Ale pours an opaque maroon, with some cherry highlights present with good light. The head is a read tinged cream color, and there's not much of it. It's impossible to really judge retention and lacing, as the lack of foam never really let them get started. The nose is redolent of cherry skins, and has a slight tartness to it. The flavor is that of a sour, cherry liquor. There are no secondary flavors playing off the cherry, that's all there is to it. It's so vibrant though, that it manages to work despite being fairly one note. The body is nice and light, and the carbonation has a little pep. Between this and the Raspbery Eisbock, I don't think anyone gets as much pure flavor out of fruit than Kuhnhenn. This was very enjoyable as a single glass, don't think I could drink more than one of these at a time though.

12 ounce bottle brought to the SeaO'Floydster tasting by WeeHeavySD, thanks for bringing this obscure brew from Michigan, reviewed from notes, poured into my Rader snifter

A-Golden yellow color, was expecting at least some red in there from its name alone but it was pretty light, 1/2 inch fizzy white head that did not last long, no lacing
S-Cherry pie, sweetness, oranges, other citrus, soft malt, funky tart scents, vinegar, and oak
T-Starts off with a big cherry flavor, sweet malt in the middle, more cherry in the finish with a nice lingering sour aftertaste, fair amount of citrus also once it warms and I get a bit of tangerine, tangy by the end with a nice fruit presence to go along with the tart
M-Sour, sweet, and dry mouthfeel, almost overpoweing carbonation but it really works with this one, medium bodied, taste lingers a long time
D-Could easily drink the bottle and more, light on the stomach, does not seem very high in alcohol and cannot taste it, good drinkability that suffers just a little bit from its sweetness

This beer had more chunks in it than any other beer I could ever remember they were cherries though and not yeast sediment thankfully, from what I have heard this beer is brewed in very small batches and that is too bad because I would like to have more in the future, recommended

Thanks to Jon (weeheavysd) for sharing this rarity at the SeaofFloydster Tasting on March 28th.

For a sour cherry beer this one poured a surprisingly pale and light yellow with a thin head.

The smell was mostly of sour cherries, tartness, funk, and light toast in the background.

Tasted pretty much how it smelled with a dry tart cherry flavor and a finish of toasted malts. Low carbonation which suited the beer well. Wish I could have been more descriptive, it wasn't that complex but it was tasty.