Virgil's Reserve
Grist Brewing Company
- From:
- Grist Brewing Company
- Colorado, United States
- Style:
- Belgian Dark Strong Ale
- ABV:
- 10.5%
- Score:
- 84
- Avg:
- 3.58 | pDev: 9.5%
- Ratings:
- | reviews: 2
- Status:
- Retired
- Rated:
- Nov 03, 2016
- Added:
- May 25, 2015
- Wants:
- 0
- Gots:
- 0
SCORE
84
Good
84
Good
No description / notes.
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Reviewed by Parmesan from Colorado
3.4/5 rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.4/5 rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
L: Murky dark red brown color with a slightly tan head that dissipates quickly, some nice fingers of lacing on the glass.
S: Lots of grape and red wine, some cherries, hints of caramel and toffee, some acidity in the smell. Not a bad smelling beer, but doesn't smell much like a Belgian ale,as the red wine overpowers it.
T: Lots of grape and red wine and cherries. No hop flavor or bitterness as expected. The grape/ red wine flavor overpowers any hint of caramel or toffee that I got in the nose. Pretty boozy too with a little bit of sour and acidity.
F: Medium body with a medium carbonation, some acidity mouthfeel can be a little odd with several things that don't all mix together at once.
O: This is an ok beer, but it doesn't have too many belgian characteristics as they all seem to be overwhelmed by the red wine barrel aging.
May 18, 2016S: Lots of grape and red wine, some cherries, hints of caramel and toffee, some acidity in the smell. Not a bad smelling beer, but doesn't smell much like a Belgian ale,as the red wine overpowers it.
T: Lots of grape and red wine and cherries. No hop flavor or bitterness as expected. The grape/ red wine flavor overpowers any hint of caramel or toffee that I got in the nose. Pretty boozy too with a little bit of sour and acidity.
F: Medium body with a medium carbonation, some acidity mouthfeel can be a little odd with several things that don't all mix together at once.
O: This is an ok beer, but it doesn't have too many belgian characteristics as they all seem to be overwhelmed by the red wine barrel aging.
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Texas
3.3/5 rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
3.3/5 rDev -7.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.25
IBU: 21. SRM: 15.
Belgian yeast comes off a bit doughy and the attenuation is off, but then so are the malts...they bend towards the dark side too much for a Belgian ale, leaning heavy on the sweetness. Caramel, breadiness, buried dark fruits...she's sweet, too much so for the style. And the dark fruits aren't vivid or expressive; this is about the malts, not the quadrupel-redolent dark fruits which remain reticent.
It does nod towards sourness without committing...and given it's Grist, I'm none too sure the sourness is intentional. But the red wine is...acidic, slightly tannic...not too pungent. There's fair use of wine-soaked wood here, but this lacks cohesion. Definitely not a gestalt brew. I do like it.
Smooth, wet, acidic, medium-bodied, unrefreshing. Slightly overcarbonated. Supple and soft...the mouthfeel coaxes out the oak nicely. Well-done.
There's not a perfect harmony of texture and taste, and it's not a gestalt whole of a build, but there're a lot of nice elements in play here. Grist is stepping up their game, and I like the results. True, this could use some dialing in, but there's serious potential here. Impressively drinkable for a beer of this high an ABV, and carefully considered. Hat tip to Grist for the strong effort.
Low B- (3.30)
Dec 24, 2015Belgian yeast comes off a bit doughy and the attenuation is off, but then so are the malts...they bend towards the dark side too much for a Belgian ale, leaning heavy on the sweetness. Caramel, breadiness, buried dark fruits...she's sweet, too much so for the style. And the dark fruits aren't vivid or expressive; this is about the malts, not the quadrupel-redolent dark fruits which remain reticent.
It does nod towards sourness without committing...and given it's Grist, I'm none too sure the sourness is intentional. But the red wine is...acidic, slightly tannic...not too pungent. There's fair use of wine-soaked wood here, but this lacks cohesion. Definitely not a gestalt brew. I do like it.
Smooth, wet, acidic, medium-bodied, unrefreshing. Slightly overcarbonated. Supple and soft...the mouthfeel coaxes out the oak nicely. Well-done.
There's not a perfect harmony of texture and taste, and it's not a gestalt whole of a build, but there're a lot of nice elements in play here. Grist is stepping up their game, and I like the results. True, this could use some dialing in, but there's serious potential here. Impressively drinkable for a beer of this high an ABV, and carefully considered. Hat tip to Grist for the strong effort.
Low B- (3.30)
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