Prisoner's Dilemma
Off Color Brewing

 

 

12oz bottle poured into 12oz tulip. Poured an opaque orange-brown color with just the thinnest amount of head that no retention or lacing.

Herbally/floral dominant, very light malt scent. The herbs dominate on the tongue, unique, but not that interesting. The body was medium-light, crisp, and had a lightly tart finish. Drinkability was fine, but i couldn't see drinking 2 of these in a row. Overall, nice little take on the style. worth a shot if you like trying different things.

Disappointing. No flavor.

 

 

Label states "Colonial Style Mild Ale With Herbs" and also referred to as an "herbal beer" on the brewery website. Named after a British brewer and convict in colonial Australia, and it uses mild malt in the grain bill. Not a Scottish Gruit.

Dark auburn copper color with bright clarity and a compact head of off-white foam.
Aroma is soft and malt forward, lightly sweet and fruity with apple esters.
Taste is more on the herbal side, root botanicals, dry and earthy in the aftertaste.
Light bodied and fairly smooth, supple feel with light carbonation, the herbs add a mild bitterness.
Overall this is an interesting beer, a hybrid English Mild with herbs.
Thanks to Chris for this one!

Pours a cloudy somewhat opaque dirty brown color. Thin off-white head disappears almost as quickly as it appeared.

Smell has notes of grain, bark, herbs, dirt, super earthy.

Taste has notes of bread, grain, bark, dirt, leaves, malt, etc. This is super earthy and rustic. Somewhat sweet.

Feel is medium to heavy. Mild carbonation. Very smooth.

Very unique beer. Interesting to try, but I couldn't drink more than one of these.

 

 

Being the first review on this brew and being somewhat inexperienced in the gruit-herbed styles (only 7 Hads) and being a fan of Off Color, the responsible thing for me to do was do some research.

First, I went to Off Color's website (always good to see people working and having fun.) They tell the story of how an Aussie had to steal some of the rare herbs that went into this beer and, soon, he went to jail, got out and made money selling hops. While that irony is rich enough, I still went to WikiPedia to get the skinny on the Prisoner's Dilemma; it is a probability game played to understand better how humans operate out of their self-interest and, yet, still can cooperate. That's pretty heady stuff for someone whose main worry is whether employees are trying to regulate what is inside of a brew kettle... or whether a highly-cultivated yeast is mating with unintended bacteria (as was Off Color's issue prior to creating a separate shop for the Brett family.)

I like beers that don't abuse hops. Thus, I like Prisoner's Dilemma. Its combination of herbs create interesting flavors.
However, it Looks like most the other gruits I've had.... which is not too good... and very close to not good at all. (Foam is usually an essential ingredient to enjoying a beer fully.) The Dilemma's Smells are muted, but mostly malt. Tastes can't go wrong, but also don't make me say "Wow! I want that again." A bit thin in the mouth, but who is counting that when so much thought has gone into flavoring water this differently.

Of course, I don't have Prisoner's Dilemma with any food other than pretzels or nuts (if that be food.) Have it when contemplating how wrong-headed humans can get when they are unsure about what to do with one another.

1/10/20 I had Dilemma again. This time with food that was herby and veggie (a garden burger) and a veggie broth. A good match. But I have increased my OA rating because now is the time for America to understand its Prisoners Dilemma. Either we learn to cooperate, or we die. Can a beer teach us all that ?