Encendía
Jester King Brewery

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
by Thomas_Wikman from Texas

I drank Encendia batch #2. It is brewed with roasted barley, wheat, Agave nectar, epazote, ancho chili, brettamycines, and it was barrel aged in Mezcal barrels for 10 months, ABV 11.90%. It is great with spicy food.

Look: dark brown like coca cola with thick off-white, almost mocca colored head

Aroma: margaritas

Taste: The flavor is complex. It is tart and sweet with brett funk but there are other flavors. I taste lemon/lime, pepper, agave, a slight mezc liqueur flavor. The alcohol is barely noticeable despite the 12%, but what is there only compliments the flavors. It is really delicious.

Body/Overall: medium body, relatively easy drinking

Jul 14, 2020

4.22/5  rDev +2.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by snaotheus from Washington

2020-07-05
750ml bottle served in a SIP Fest snulip. Blend #2, January 2020. Label says it's 11.9% abv. Bought it on Craftshack.com.

Pours a dark brown, translucent when thin enough, medium to large head that seems to be fading pretty slowly. Smell is lime, tart, something that makes me think of margaritas, sweet tarts. I thought for a second a got a hint of crushed red pepper.

Taste is tart, oaky, lime is still there but not as bright. Maybe a tiny bit of fig. Booze is noticeable but not dominant. Something slightly smokey really late in the taste. Not really tasting any pepper but I think there's a slight burning sensation building on the back of my tongue.

Mouthfeel is light, dry, refreshing (dangerous at 11.9%). Overall, nice tasty beer, with a lot of different things going on. Looking forward to experiencing it change as it warms up.

Jul 06, 2020

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by BeanBump from California

I was pleasantly surprised by this beer. I was expecting something with a kick of spice and strong, smoky mezcal flavor but what I got was much more subdued...in a great way. Sure, the beer has tones of smoke and chili but, to me, it bears a striking resemblance to a Flanders' Red. It's tart, slightly vinegary, rich and deceptively smooth considering its high ABV. Great beer.

Jun 29, 2020

4.29/5  rDev +4.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
by Sabtos from Ohio

Dark yet clear cola brown with a tall khaki head that settles slowly to a bubbly, lumpy film and fuzzy but tall collar leaving some spongy lace on the glass.

Delicately smoky, it actually does have that uniquely, botanically smoky mezcal note that's floral and herbal, all pleasantly so. I'm a lover of mezcal so take that for what you will, but I feel it's in very moderate measure, pairing with tart crabapple.

The smooth medium round body has a fine yet soft carbonation lifting a cask note that almost brings a darker char element, without the unnecessary decadence, coming to a semi-dry finish.

This combination of ingredients and barrel really works, much more so here than some of their other dark sours, where the smokiness they achieve becomes too savory. 14.5%, and not even a hint of booze?! In fact, if true, it's super smooth, not even relatively speaking. Shockingly so.

May 24, 2020

4.13/5  rDev +0.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4
by devilfluff from New Jersey

This was one of the better tequila/agave related beers that I've gotten to try. This is a big saison, and has enough backbone to withstand the treatment. I enjoyed this tremendously.

Jan 23, 2016

4.3/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
by James_Michaud91 from California

Orange/rust color, faintest trace of a head left in the glass. Smell is fascinating, reminds me of a mix of rose water, something exotic like super ripe papaya and a slightly funky/putrid(in a good way?) apple cider vinegar.

This beer feels like it has its route in being an Oude bruin/red but has taken an exotic turn from the additions. The taste adds some spiced tea like flavors to the ripe fruit.

The acid and big malt base balance each other nicely and neither is distracting. This is really easy drinking for its abv and ph (3.4). I've read other reviews saying they smelled a lot of burnt plastic or strong mescal flavors but I can just barely detect the mezcal outside of some oak presence in the beer.

Nov 13, 2015

4.25/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
by IMFletcher from Kentucky

Rating based on bottle pour of 2014 bottle in July 2015; not a lot of spicy heat, but it's there. Color seems off, but that might be from the barrel aging. A great beer nonetheless.

Jul 05, 2015

3/5  rDev -27%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
by Jpepe08 from Vermont

Not for me. The flavors seem a bit disjointed and collide harshly rather than melding together.

Mar 23, 2015