The Scupper
Cape May Brewing Company

 

 

 

Poured from 750 ml bottle into Cape May pint glass. It pours a turbid, muddy apricot color with a finger of creamy, milk-white head and lots of lacing with excellent retention. I was really impressed with the head. it remained creamy and attractive throughout the pour. It has a decidedly oaky nose along with lemon, banana, coriander, clove, and a whiff of red wine; it's quite fragrant. The taste is both complex and pleasing. I anticipated mostly Saison to start but instead the first thing I taste is the red wine barrel and a touch of honey. There are also plenty of anticipated Saison flavors, including banana, clove, and coriander, and the Brettanomyces give it a distinct funk. It finishes with note of bitterness. For a Saison, it has a particularly creamy mouth feel with moderate carbonation, and the 7.4% ABV allows for easy drinking. Overall, I'm very impressed. This Ale is well-conceived and crafted and delivers a lot of flavor. It would pair well with a meal of steamed or broiled seafood, corn on the cob, and red potatoes, or for casual outdoor drinking with friends.

Great clarity with only a little yeasty turbulence. Solid head, solid stay, lacing slides down the glass like ghost fingers on a window.

Lemongrass, vanilla, oak, grapes, wine alcohol on the nostrils.

Taste is all honey, oak, vanilla, grapes. Banana, lemongrass, lemon, nice dry acidity. This tastes like a thing of beauty. Complex without being overwhelmed with itself.

Medium mouthfeel. Dry and oaky. Creamy without being juicy.

Overall, you should seek this beer out. It was tart and delicious like a saison with brett should be. Honestly, one of the best I've tried in a long time.

L: hazy gold with streams of bubbles hurrying to the surface to join a 1" off-white foam cap with moderate retention.

S: Saison yeast, French oak and Brett, banana, spice, floral, honey, traces of tobacco, vanilla, orange, pepper, over ripe fruit, and a hint of biscuit and earthiness. It's almost like burying your face in a fresh spring bouquet.

T: honey and fruit - orange, peach and banana - and light biscuit and grains with a balancing bitterness and tartness. The spiciness is less intense than the fruit, with light pepper, faint vanilla and a spicy, earthy hop presence. The beer is juicy and has a slightly astringent finish from the oak. The Scupper is yeast forward and complex yet well balanced.

F: exceptionally creamy feel, a medium light body and moderately high carbonation. It's tart but not mouth puckering.