Me Echó La Burra Negra
Finca Buena Vista Brewery

A: The beer is very dark brown in color; when held up to the light it is brownish red in color and has a light amount of carbonation. It poured with a short light beige head that quickly settled down but left a wide collar around the edge of the glass and some lacing on the surface.
S: Moderate aromas of sweet, dark malts are present in the nose along with notes of dark fruits such as cherries.
T: The taste follows the smell and is malty and sweet with notes of dark fruit. No alcohol is perceptible.
M: It feels a bit more than medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: This beer isn't nearly as fruity and complex compared to other beers in the style from other countries, but it isn't that bad for an Argentinian beer.

Serving type: bottle

 

With a nod to dark malts, the Finca Buena Vista team takes their Belgian influences past the dark fruit and dark spice of darker, stronger ale and into the realm of porter and stout.

Me Echo La Burra's Negra version kicks off with a muddled dark bark brown and nearly black through the center. A creamy but fledgling tan froth rolls onto the nose with heavily toasted grain, coffee and cocoa with dark fruit and peppercorn applying a light tingle. Its malty taste is toasty, roasty and earthy leading with coffee, caramel and the char of toast.

As the ale crosses middle palate, its toasty flavors settle on the palate with a woodsy taste, a medley of stale coffee, cocoa powder, roasted nuts and steely caramels that lift soon after. Fruitiness is wine-like, equipped with the harsh taste of grain husk, grape seed, cider and wood spices.

Medium full on the palate, the beer's harsh grain character applies a spicy tannic bite on the tongue, seemingly of over rinsed dark grain, fruit skins, seeds and stems. Spent coffee grounds and those wood-type spices plague the finish and aftertaste with a warm and biting texture.

Black color with red highlights and a thick dark beige head with good retention.
Aroma with notes of chocolate, hay, lots of red fruits and I also got some Band-Aid. It is somewhat sour.
Flavor with notes of red fruits, spices, cocoa, hay, something sour and lemon drops. Dry aftertaste with a low to medium bitterness
Medium body with slightly effervescent carbonation. Hard to tell it is 8% abv.
This Belgian Dark Strong Ale felt to me like a Porter made with Belgian yeast and some wild yeast.

la echo la Burra translates as the kicking mule. Argentinian men apparently use this phrase to refer to a nagging wife. Funny stuff!

a: Very dark, clear chestnut brown; pours with a large, firm, and sticky head.

s: Obviously off from the first whiff. Some dark, fruity esters with hints of cocoa and some gentle heat. Unfortunately there was some vegetal band aids as well.

t: A bit better than the smell, but still off. Strong, roasty cocoa, odd but appealing from a Belgian style ale. I'm liking that element. Yeasty Belgian esters and some sugary caramel as well. There was also some fairly pronounced stewed vegetables at the finish.

m: Nice heft and active, fizzy carbonation.

o: A very thoughtful gift from B&E. I would love to try this as the brewer intended, I really liked some parts of it. Its a shame about the bottling/infection issue, I think this would have a very tasty and unique Belgian stout. Oh well, thanks anyway guys!