Adambier
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

Dark brown in color with a murky complexion. Light lacing. There’s a fingernail of beige around the rim and covering half of the top. The aris of brettanomyces and sweet bourbon. I’m tasting sour brettanomyces and sweet bourbon. The mouth is moderately carbonated and dry.

375 ml bottle, from Vinmonopolet. ABV is 9.2%. Against the Grain is not mentioned on the label. Very dark reddish brown colour, nearly black. Small beige head. Sourish aroma of brettanomyces / farmhouse, lactic acid, red wine vinegar and oak, hints of bourbon and vanilla. Very sour flavour (too sour?) with distinct notes of red wine vinegar and lactic acid.

Dark brown body; thick, spongy, light khaki colored head. Moderate sour aroma; cherries; dry white oak. Great sour flavor overall; cherries and strawberries; green apple; moderate tart quality. Medium body; acidic.

I have no idea what a sour dortmunder altbier is supposed to taste like, but this is a nice sour beer as is. Balanced with some very nice complexity.

Pouring temperature: 47 °F; bottling data: unknown

 

 

 

Popped the top and poured into a belgium glass, dark deep reddish brown nearly black. Great color. Head was about two fingers high and stayed for a while with great lacing that was a soft creamy whipped butter color.
Smelled of vinegar and fig with an oak woody finish.
Tasted tart, bright with a satisfying depth. Dark fruit flavor, and vinegar without being unpleasant at all. The Bourbon barrels knock around the fruit at the end, fun mouth feel thats like a little tart and barrel wrestling match for a few seconds until every one just stops fighting and mingles together elegantly to finish.
A sour beer to behold! Reminds me of the Flemish and Flanders of Belgium that took generations to perfect. Love it! If you find it then take your time with her and savor every moment.

 

 

16.9 oz bottle poured into North Coast Snifter.

Has a ruddy brown to mahogany color with a butter colored head of 2 fingers.

Bourbon barrel is apparent in the nose, it comes across as sweet and acidic and alcoholic. Some vinegar, fig, toasted malts, and blackberry also show up.

Flavor is quite tart and acidic; the bourbon barrel takes a back seat to the heavy handed vinegar and cranberry notes, with hints of sour cherry candies, lemon, and slight toast.

Feel is puckering, acidic, and bright. Moderate carbonation, tangy finish.

Overall, a sour beer through and through despite the style clashes on the back and the bourbon barrel footnote. It's your basic run of the mill lactic sour beer, just with a touch more character. Recommended for sour-heads.

 

Cellared until opening on April 5, 2019, around nine or ten months old.

Deep, very dark brown body with big molasses and caramel and ruby highlights in the light. A thin cap of light tan head that recedes to the sides of the glass in a minute. Some lacing, not a lot.
Aroma is nice but faint. Dark, biscuity grain bordering on rye crackers, faint sour (lemon, dark vinegar) and raisin. Toasted oak and stale vanilla bean in the background. A faint, downhill-heading sourdough starter, moldy cigar, and old red wine show up as it warms—I'm not sure if I like it or not, maybe it had more deep tobacco and chocolate and less of the sour and vinegar I would.
Taste is full of typical sour ale flavors (tart lemon, sour cherry) and completely dominates the beer. Some cranberry-like tannin and tartness comes and goes along with hints of altbier malts. Aftertaste still has a lot of typical sour notes and a little—thankfully pretty faint—wet, earthy wood bordering on both antique store and heavy duty cardboard.
Mouthfeel is fine, nothing special but not bad.

Overall, not something that I would call an adambier. The deeper roots of dark and roasted or lightly smoky grains, richer, sweeter toasted oak and cigar wrapper I find in other adambiers are either missing or are heavily overshadowed by a whollop of sourness. The bourbon barrel-aging is almost non-existent as well, sadly. For a sour altbier or darker American sour ale, it isn't bad, it just isn't what I want in an adambier.

 

a: extremely dark brown, almost black, color with some ruby red undertones towards the bottom of the glass. a large, 2-3 frothy dark tan head

s: interesting smell. tart cherries and vinegar upfront. chocolate and caramel behind that with a pretty big crackery malt backbone. a hint of strawberries as well

t: huge kick of sour lemon and cherries upfront. a subtle roasted chocolate note behind that with some bready malt. oak and vinegar behind that. as it warms i'm picking up a bit more of the barrels - bourbon and tannis, a touch of vanilla

m: medium mouthfeel with high carbonation

o: definitely on the sour side! for me, the malts are more present in the aroma than the flavor. it's still smooth like an Altbier though, and very easy to drink. though, i do not believe that making an Altbier sour improves. i'd recommend letting this warm up so you can get the whole depth of flavors. good stuff!

 

 

Pours a cloudy brown color. 1/3 inch head of a tan color. Slight retention and slight lacing. Smells of liquor, sour fruit, wood, hint of wine, slight bacterial funk, hint of sweet malt, and alcohol. Fits the style of a German Altbier or an American Wild Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and crisp, with a high carbonation level. There is also a strong tartness and slight acerbity. Tastes of strong bacterial funk, sour fruit, slight wood, hint of liquor, hint of alcohol, and slight sweet malt. Besides the weak appearance and the tartness being too extreme, this is a tasty and well blended beer overall.