Ebulon
Scratch Brewing Company

I had this on draft 1/12/23 @ the Beer Temple.

Mostly opaque dark purple appearance.

Minimal white head; no lace.

Mildly tart elderberry & fresh oak notes in the nose.

Thin mouthfeel.

Big oak & dry elderberry flavors up front; clove notes on the finish. Interesting, with an odd finish. One's enough.

Cellared 2.5 years. Dark brown opaque body with orangey edges, white ring. Aromas of vinous dark rustic oak, elderberry, dirt and wet leaves in the nose. Taste ads Brett and peach skin but dirt and general earthiness is lessened considerably, with a weird, almost wood root finish. Light and quickly off palate, funky not really sour at all or sweet, pungent more than anything. More interesting than good

2019 bottle. Thank to Barber for this beauty.
Amber to ruby in hue. Hypnotically clear. Fluffy white head rises a finger or so and quickly retreats to a thin milky cap.
Aroma hints at a strong Irish red ale sweetness deeply kissed by the elderberries: to me it's like a cross between cranberries and currants.
Flavor is beautifully complex. There is the tart fruitiness, caramel malt, a gentle funk in the background, and a nod to red wine barrel.
Mouthfeel is light on carbonation, medium weight. Solid.
Overall, I find this to be not just a very interesting beer, but a delightful experience. What a great surprise. Thanks Frank!

Bright reddish copper color, sharp clarity, thin layer of froth and the occasional stray bubble.
Aroma is interesting, light cheese rind brett funk, wet oak, faint floral fruitiness from the elderberries.

Taste is oak and brett forward, a little vinous from the wine barrel, low carb and a little slick due to the high abv.

Dense and woody, low level tartness with a smooth malty middle from the Maris Otter.
It comes across as a funked up English strong ale, definitely different and not a straight up fruited AWA.

Overall a little bit more fruit and carb would serve it well, though it's definitely unique as is.

an incredible beverage right here, a slightly funky elderberry barleywine or strong ale, really one of a kind stuff and about as much elderberry as i have ever known in any beer, its natural which means astringent and medicinal and dark purple, the color of the fruit staining the beer. its thick looking and without a big head from the bottle but leggy and sturdy looking for sure. it smells incredible, a faint yeastiness up front, like a bready english thing meets a rustic saison strain, there is a lot of grain sugar here, the almost concentrated elderberry, and a big malty sweetness to it along with a little alcohol, quite complex, very earthy and organic to me and with so much elderberry! there is a tang in the taste from the elderberry, but it isnt sharp because its so well balanced by this malt profile, stronger and heavier than i am used to from these guys, so full bodied and with the berries its sort of syrupy, like purple cough medicine or something, probably better for that ailment than cough syrup with all the elderberries here. long finish, very boozy and very sweet, but there is this cool slow and patient energy to it, its relaxed and patient for what it is, really sensationally interesting, and doing great justice to the elderberry. not much carbonation, but its not needed, this has all the movement it needs built into it already. up there with my favorite beers ive ever had from scratch!

Poured from 355mL bottle into a tuliped goblet. This is the 2018 Ebulon.

Appearance: rich, dark amber hue with a moderate haze and tons of effervescence. Head is a thin layer of frothy ivory foam; it looks good.

Smell: tart, with a good berry aroma and lots of earthiness. Some sweetness comes through toward the end. It's nice and dynamic.

Taste: significantly less tart than the aroma would suggest, though with plenty of Brett character and a dash of sourness to go with the malty flavors and berry character. This one has a lot of funk going on in the flavor, but the hint of candylike tart sweetness at the end kind of saves it.

Mouthfeel: medium body with a good, well-integrated carbonation and a very good creaminess.

Overall: the funk up front is a bit too much for me with this beer, but the finish is great, with a good and balanced tart/sweet thing going on. There's a lot to like in this beer, but I'd love it more if the funk were toned down a notch.

Appearance is a tangerine amber color very flat with very little head slightly murky.
Aroma is a farmhouse fucus Romo with some red berries and astringency.
Once again this brewery does a marvelous job for bringing the flavors to the forefront in the taste where it matters most. The berry undertones work perfectly with the farmhouse funk for great tasting brew.
Even though the beard doesn't appear to have much carbonation it does seem to have carbonation in the mouth feel again surprisingly pleasant.
Overall this is another very fine offering. It seems every beer I try from this brewery never disappoints.

 

Pours a hazy brown color. 1/6 inch head of a white color. Poor retention and poor lacing. Smells of strong alcohol, sweet malt, fruit, hint of wood, and yeast. Fits the style of an American Wild Ale. Mouth feel is smooth and clean, with a low carbonation level. Tastes of strong alcohol, bacterial funk, hint of liquor, sweet malt, fruit, hint of wood, and yeast. Overall, weak appearance, good blend, strong body, great, feel, simple aroma with complex body.

L - Burgundy, ruby red color. Minimal head, no lacing.
S - Raspberry, vanilla, oak, stone fruit, alcohol
T - caramel, oak, slight berry tartness, plum, red grape, apple, faint smokiness
F - sticky sweet, low carb, a bit of alcohol heat / warming sensation
O - very unique beer with some hybrid qualities of wild ale and old ale, beautiful barrel character and a good balance of fruit and malt flavors. Like a liquid caramel apple.