Cinco Plantas
Epic Ales

 

Although I have had a couple of good beers from Epic Ales that were drinkable. Cinco Plantas was not. It was dominated by a sour, ester, and band aid flavor. I would guess that fermentation temperatures were too high and that the fermenter may have been contaminated.

I will usually finish a beer, even if it is bad. This beer I had to dump.

I respect Epic Ales direction of trying new things and brewing with Sake yeast. But this beer was not drinkable.

22oz bottle purchased at Bottleworks in Seattle.

A - Pours a nice semi-clear yellow/orange with a white head.
S - Oh god. Burnt rubber and melting plastic.
T - Slight citrus notes with an overwhelming rubbery plastic finish. A little bit of nail polish remover in the aftertaste.
M - I can't really drink enough to get a good take on the mouthfeel.
O - Wow. Terrible is the first thing that comes to mind. I'm sure behind the rubber and plastic there is some semblance of a beer, but I can't get past a few sips to find out. Avoid this like the plague.

I purchased a 22 oz. of Cinco Plantas, pouring it into a 10 oz tasting glass at home. The bottle says that Cinco Plantas is brewed with epazote, which is a central American herb with anise-like qualities.

Color: The beer was deep golden color, opaque, with moderate head retention.

Smell & Flavor: There was an overwhelming ester smell and taste to the beer. This manifested as an awkwardly sweet, mildly banana-like odor, that typically indicates that the beer was fermented at too high of a temperature (or, sometimes, insufficient aeration). I believe the brewer may have done this intentionally to balance the sourness of the epazote, but for me, it did not work. I could not escape the esters, and I did not notice much complexity from the epazote. (Was the epazote added to the boil too early?)

Mouthfeel: OK.

Overall, I could not drink the beer. The fermentation was just flawed. Though I do highly support Epic Ales in their exploration of new styles and flavors, and I hope their future brews are more successful.

Poured from a 22 oz bottle into an 8 oz. tulip at Epic Ales tasting room (this review is from my notes taken on 7/02/11).

A - Poured a hazy orange and brown hue, with a 1/2 finger of small bubble head. A bit of retention, leaving patchy lace.

S - A candied orange nose punctuated with spice like BBQ sauce. The candied orange gives way to tangerine, and an herby/briny base becomes apparent.

T - Immediate briny flavor, with notes of spicy peat, followed by the tangerine sweetness. This is followed by spicy tea herbiness, finishing with a sour ale tang amidst more peaty spiciness.

M - Twangy sharp sensation, but with mild carbonation. Smooth texture witha medium body, and a dry finish.

D - A very unique flavor, spicy but not in a "cayenne hot" kind of way. It's a great sipping beer, but not very sessionable. Worth a try because you'll be hard-pressed to find a flavor profile like this anywhere else.

22 oz. bottle poured into an 8. oz tulip at Epic Ale's taproom. July, 2nd 2011.

3-grain Saison made from wheat, oats, barley, Falconer hops and epazote (Mexican cooking herb).

A: Cloudy golden color with a thin head.

S: Very briny aroma with a hint of orange.

T: Sour olive brine, rosemary, thyme with citrus and herb notes.

M: Medium carbonation.

O: Very unique beer, I've never had anything like it and I'm not sure if I'll ever see anyone else do the same. Very much worth seeking out.