Big Shrug
Fonta Flora Brewery

Ciocanelu from Romania

4.25/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Sample at Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2017, blue session. Crystal clear ruby color. Aroma is fruity with lactic, yogurt notes and some bubblegum. Taste is sour, woody, dry with berries and berry pits. Dry, acidic mouthfeel.

May 31, 2017

brentk56 from North Carolina

3.77/5  rDev -9.6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

Appearance: Pours murky and mauve, with a reasonably impressive head that fades more rapidly than expected; a few strands of lacing linger

Smell: Fennel forward with blackberries underneath, both acctic and Bretty, with an oaky character, as well

Taste: Quite herbal, from the outset, with the blackberries adding a tart tone underneath; funky Brett elements build through the middle, along with the acetic sourness; the finish is dry and oaky

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with buoyant carbonation

Overall: I would like to have seen more fruit flavor relative to the herbal elements in this beer

Apr 18, 2016

Dan_K from Colorado

4.08/5  rDev -2.2%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4

From 500ml bottle into tulip glasses.

L: Bottle gushed on opening, but settled down eventually. Nice pink color, a little murky. Head dissipated quickly.
S: Strong flavors of fennel are there, but also the blackberries are present on the nose. Smells a little sweet and fruity, a little herbal.
T: As a contrast to the nose, the taste didn't feature strong flavors of fennel. Features a significant brett character, blackberries, and then a wisp of fennel bitterness on the end. This isn't a sweet beer, it's fairly dry. The berries and fennel remind us of Good and Plenty candies.
F: Fairly thin body, dry, with very active carbonation in the mouth. At first it kind of burned a bit but then mellowed out as it warmed a bit in the glass.
O: I can see how the fennel could have overpowered this beer, but with this amount of age on it, it's morphed into something that transcends this one ingredient. The great nose followed up by a good (but different) taste makes this one a winner.

Apr 01, 2016

rudzud from Massachusetts

3.38/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3

Split with JLindros. Happy Birthday man.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a nice hazy strawberry hue with a thin white head that fades to lane light wisps.

S -Aromas of strong fennel, , very overpowering. Smells like a glass of anisette. Everything else that makes this a beer is stomped down into nothing. No berries, no nothing.

T - Taste is similar to the nose, loads of fennel, overpowering so. There is light berries, faint blackberry jam. There is nice tartness too. Good acid too. Still way too much fennel.

M - Mouthfeel is nicely carbonated, good crispness.

O - Overall this beer was a big let down. Sounded great on paper, bit, did not execute. Really unfortunate. Sigh.

Serving type: bottle

Mar 04, 2016

jlindros from Massachusetts

3.56/5  rDev -14.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.75

Thanks to rudzud

Decent fizzy foamy smaller head, hazy pinkish strawberry color.

Nose big fennel and berry, blackberry, genetic fruit with fennel herbal spice, apple cider with spices.

Taste tart fruit at first, then more herbal fennel, tons of fennel, little berry fruit, mild seed, herbal spice and tangy acidic bite. Finish dry flemmy sticky, little bitter seed and acidic tart berry lingering.

Mouth is med bod, flemmy tart sticky, nice carb.

Mar 04, 2016