Skully Barrel No. 44: Mangozacca
Paradox Beer Company

 

 

L- golden orange slight haze, poured a large head
S- citrusy with slight mango
T- very sour/ tart with slight mango, a little lingering orange peel aftertaste
F- very carbonated, refreshing
O- pretty sour for my personal preference but still very good overall

 

I enjoyed this bottle on NYE poured chilled in a tumbler.

The color is a golden shade with light haze and voluminous head with tight bead.
The smell is tart/tangy aroma of tropical fruit with a mild vinous aroma and wine barrel presence in the smell with lactic lemony sour quality as it warms.
The feel is both tart and gently astringent with vinous and light juicy tart tangy acidity with medium high effervescence and dry finish with mild alcohol
The taste is very good with tropical fruit from the mango and slight tangy yeast up front with a light wine/oak flavor that creeps in with a mild sour flavor and gentle bitter herbal element in the hop taste. The mix of wine, sour and fruit with hops leads to a mostly dry finish with lingering white wine notes in the back with mango tang.
Overall an interesting combination of fruit and hops with wine barrel and alcohol fullness but not well blended. The parts that make up the whole are good but could have more cohesive flavor combination.

 

 

 

A: Dark orange-amber in color with no light coming through. Thin head likely due to the semi-high alcohol content.

S: Not a very overwhelming smell. Slight hints of mango. Reminiscent of a tart fruit juice, perhaps similar to less sweet version of Snapple.

T: Incredibly tart and loaded with mango flavor. I get the feeling that the hops clash with the immense amount of wild fermentation going on in this beer. Subtle hints of the oak barrel aging come through after a couple of sips. I wish it was a little bit sweeter.

M: Incredibly tart and bubbly at the front. So much so that it makes me pucker my lips. Remains tart down the back of the mouth and throat. Very little heat from the alcohol, but a little bit of warming at the very end from the barrel aging.

O: I feel that this beers leaves me wanting more. It's a bit too tart and not balanced very well with the hops. I wish it was a little more juicy. Perhaps this could have been achieved by toning down the amount of wild yeast and ramping up the hops.

500mL bottle from Craft Beer Factory (Marietta, GA). 13.93. No bottle date but this is a 2016 release that just recently arrived in Georgia. Served in a Barrel and Barley teku.

Pours a murky, dull orange gold with almost two fingers of pale head. The rocky froth quickly subsides, leaving a thin, broken rail around the edges and zero lace. It doesn't bother me at all but this is just not an attractive beer.

Smells hoppy and tart. Sour mango, earhty peach, vague citrus and old hay bails. The blend begs for a taste.

The flavors are an intriguing blend of tropical hops, sour mango and earthy barrel funk. Mango (of both the hoppy and sour variety), white wine, peach, citrus pulp, wet oak, earthy hay and some soured wheat. The varied tastes seem to work both with and against each other but ultimately I quite like it.

Medium full body with mild carbonation. Aftertaste of sour fruit and juicy tropical hops with some pleasant wine barrel character.

Mangozacca is another delicious offering from Paradox. I can understand the sentiments that some of the flavors might seem disjointed but I enjoyed the experience enough that I plan to get some more.

 

It pours a syrupy orange that is turbid and chunky with a beautiful white finger of foam. If you have ever seen any of those super slow mo vids, that is the speed the curtains of lace slide down the inner glass after a swirl. Eventually a bare cap happens.

Woahhh gonna do my hippie best to break down the full strength aroma. Don't mock me for this but I get orange creamsicle and overripe mango mixed with funky tart and light hormonal. Also co-starring are rounded yeasty tart and pepper. Hard to force my nose away from this beer. I am thinking how much I hope the taste is exactly the same as this delectable aroma.

Bright and full strength taste that is, as hoped, a wonderful showcase for all the flavors in the bouquet. There are some additional lighter strength undernotes hard to separate and identify, as well as some earthy funk notes to accompany the spicy and hormonal aspects. As it warms all the spectrum of citrus flavors appears, some oaky flavors pop, and this beer becomes very complex. It ends semi dry with citrus pith flavor the agent that dries it. One of the most complex beers I have enjoyed this year.

Very thick brew, low carb. despite having sported such a large head, with killer finish. Excellent frame for the flavor profile.

Despite how glowingly I relate the specifics of this beer, here I must say that some of the flavors don't go so well together as they might. It is a case of all star players not melding into a championship team, so to speak. I am loving it, and I know price isn't supposed to enter into it, but for the steep price I was hoping for more. Recommended for those like me who love strong flavors and brutal complexity.