Foeder PHOR
Wander Brewing

Pours a dark brown with a deep rosy note as held up to the light. Rusty/copper emerges as the glass gets less full and there's less liquid to look through. Decent dirty coloured head that settles in to a ring and galaxy classic pretty quickly.

Nose has some dark sweet fruits... almost like a raspberry liqueur with some spice and woody notes that all come together to pull it from raspberry liqueur to certainly a cherry suggestion. All fairly faint, but pleasant. Maybe some tobacco in there as well.
That was all cold. As it warms, it gets richer, and the alcohol comes forth pretty strongly. Gains an almost cognac type rich sweet character.

First sip is almost more of an old ale with a distinct tobacco character leading in and dominating. Some leather and rich wood comes in and there's an essence of dark fruits, though without reading the label my first instincts would be to reach for fig descriptors before cherry. With the benefit of knowledge, though, I feel pretty comfortable describing it as old earthy cherries. The oak runs underneath all of these as well and gives it a finish that's almost sour between the oak and the cherry. Definitely more tart to balance the richness than I'd expected. Some toast kind of mildly present as well. Cherry continues to build though as it warms to where I can definitely tell that's what is there even without the label.

Tart cherry and oak carries the lingering finish here for sure. Bright carbonation over a somewhat slick body.

This one has really grown on me as I've worked my way down the glass. Absolutely at its best as a slow sipper, I ultimately find myself really digging it, though even the 500ml bottle may be a bit much for one sitting.

500mL/16.9oz bottle purchased about a month ago at the Kendall Yards Nectar, Spokane, Washington, for $8.99. No freshness date, but the 2017 on the label tells me it's more than 7 months old. I'm not worried.

Poured into a St. Bernardus goblet, this was the color of a cola, and took on a more rubyish tinge when held up to light. Very thin, beige head that dropped at high speed. Virtually no lace.

A tart (and slightly funky) cherry aroma leads the smell parade (I'm trademarking that for a future band name).

The tart, sour cherry flavor noted above leads the taste parade. It's accompanied by a vanilla-like sweetness from the oak but that's well down in the mix. There's a background raisiny note as well, with a warming booziness that creeps in as it warms, just enough to let you know it's there.

Low carbonation for a Belgian style ale. While not a particularly big bodied beer, this lack of carbonation did hinder the mouthfeel, which was too flat and leaden for the style.

Not a great beer, but pretty good, especially in the flavor dept. I'd love to have had a fresher example on tap at the source.