Mage Minds
Brewery Vivant

 

I picked up a bottle of Brewery Vivant's Mage Minds last month at Brewery Vivant. I liked this one when I had it on tap and I decided to get a bottle to bring home so I could give it a proper review, so lets see how it goes. 2017 Vintage. Poured from a brown 500ml bottle into an teku.

A- The label looks nice, it has a nice design to it and it's a little eye catching. It poured a fairly clear golden color which took on more of a yellow color when held to the light and it had fingers worth of slightly bubbly off white head that died down to a thin ring that eventually faded away and it left just a little bit of spotty lacing behind. This is a good looking beer, I have no complaints.

S- the aroma starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the hops being the first to show up and they impart a nice citrus rind, dank, light green hop, floral and light soapy hops aromas that go into some noticeable stone fruit like aromas with no single fruit sticking out the most. Up next comes the funky yeast which is just a little on the lighter side and it imparts some funky barnyard aromas that goes right into a little bit of an oak aromas and light tannin like aroma and towards the end comes the malts which are on the lighter side and impart a pale malt, light grainy and sweet malt like aromas. This beer has a good aroma, it's fairly complex and all the aspects seem to work well together.

T- The taste seems to be similar to the aroma and it starts off with a slightly higher amount of medium sweetness with the hops still being the first to show up and they impart all the same aspects that they did in the aroma and they are just a little lighter and that goes into the funky yeast which is also a little lighter, but it imparts all the same funky aspects from the aroma. Up next comes the stonefruit which shows up just as much as it did in the aroma and that goes into a medium amount of sourness with the barrel showing up next and it's lighter than it was in the aroma and not as noticeable. Towards the end comes the malts which stick out more than they did in the aroma and they impart all the same aspects with some bready and light grainy flavors coming through. On the finish there's hardly any bitterness with a little more lingering sourness and sweetness with a fruity, hoppy, stone fruit and sour aftertaste. This is a good tasting beer, it's fairly complex and there's a nice amount of sourness to round it out.

M- Fairly smooth, a little refreshing, not overly sour, a little crisp, on the lighter side of being medium bodied with a medium amount of carbonation. The mouthfeel is good and it works well with this beer.

Overall I thought this was a good beer and it's a good example of the style, it's got pretty much al the aspects I was looking for and the thought the flavors and aromas worked well with each other. This beer had nice drinkability, one bottle is the perfect amount for me. What I like the most about this beer is the how well all the flavors and aromas work together, nothing felt out of place. What I liked the least about this beer is nothing, there isn't anything that really held it back. I would buy this beer again when looking for something that's hoppy and a little funky and I would recommend it to anyone looking for the same. All in all I was happy with this beer and It was a nice easy drinking sour and hoppy beer. It's not a favorite Brewery Vivant beer and it's a good example of the style. good job guys, this is a tasty beer, keep it up