East Bound & Down
J. Wakefield Brewing

 

 

 

Not terrible, just really really weird

Reviewed from notes. Had on-tap at Wakefield's tasting room. Served in a JWB snifter glass.

A: Hazy gold, with fairly low visible carbonation. The finger's worth of white fluffy head fades pretty quickly.

S: Acetic tartness, lactic and citric bite. Green coffee, cracker malts. Smells pretty acidic.

T: Acetic acid tartness - big up front, but stops short of seeming "vinegary". Green coffee, and just a touch of sweet chocolate near the swallow. Finished with more of a citric acid and lactic notes, but with more coffee. Some more chocolate sweetness shows up after the swallow.

M: Medium-bodied, fairly low carbonation sensation. There's a bit of alcohol heat, but it's largely kept in check.

O: I thought this was OK, albeit a bit schizophrenic. There's a lot going on, and maybe a bit too much for its own good. The coffee and acetic acid flavors dominate. I wouldn't miss the chocolate much if they'd left that out, but the sweetness it brought isn't really unwelcome. Glad I tried it, but I won't be taking a growler back home with me.

 

 

 

Very high expectations, as I haven't had a JWB beer that I DIDN'T like, but, MAN. Disappointment City. Not sure what went wrong here, if I just waited too long to drink it, or poor storage before it got to me, or what.

Now, I love the taste of vinegar, but not when it was supposed to be coffee and cocoa. The nose matched it too. Went down easily though, chugged it just to get it out of the way and on to something else.

The bad kind of surprise.

 

 

 

Bonus points for being interesting and, though sounding like an atrocity, actually being drinkable. 5 oz pour on tap. Coffee and cocoa translate to an almost tropical, tamarind sourness up front with a roasty back end. Odd but not the wreckage that other reviews led me to expect.

 

750 mL bottle poured into a Boulevard Tank 7 tulip. Pours a light, pastel yellow and settles as a solid, transluscent tangerene color in the glass. The carbonation built up slowly in this one, and eventually I had close to 3 finger of crispy, snow white foam. This beer isn't as cloudy or hazy as I was expecting - not sure why I was expecting it to begin with - although it is to a small extent.
This beer had a big aroma right out of the bottle. One of those I could smell as I was pouring. It's intensity has since lessened, but the nose on this guy is still big and bold. Definitely a sour, as there are those giveaway notes of souring bacteria/yeast and vinegary tartness. Beyond that, though, are notes of sweet, ground cocoa, ground coffee, vanilla, and maybe a touch of caramel. Strangely pleasant and balanced, though you'd never think so reading the description.
Upon tasting, I'm met with an initial blast of intense sourness..like, Sour in the Rye sourness. This fades fast, though, or should I say blends, into a complexity of respectable proportion. Nearly as intense as those souring notes, next comes a wave of supremely sweet, masterfully crafted chocolate. Probably the best tasting chocolate beer I've ever had in terms of the quality of the chocolate itself. Intermingling with the aforementioned are notes of caramel, candied sugar, roasted coffee, toffee, and vanilla. Very, very tasty.
The mouthfeel is also very nice. Most sours are pretty carbonated, and this one's no exception. Not overly bubbly, though, like some. For the ABV, and the taste profile, this beer's mouthfeel is spot on. Dense enough to carry those choclately notes without feeling thin, but also light enough to feel like a true sour.

Overall, I had low expecations for the beer, I must admit. I'm generlly not a fan of Berliner Weisses, and the commercial description didn't make this beer sound good at all. I just couldn't imagine a BW, only more sour, and with chocolate and coffee being remotely drinkable. Luckily, thankfully, this beer proved me wrong in all aspects. I've heard great thing about Wakefield, but this is my first offering. I'll definitely make a point to visit the brewery next time I'm in the area. Outstanding beer.

 

The nose is burnt coffee and lemon warheads. The body pours a bright yellow/blonde with a white head. Very light body for the 7%. No taste of alcohol. The flavor is overpowered by old tobacco and butyric acid. This is honestly the worst beer I've had that wasn't infected or botched. The plan just does not equate to a palatable beer. The level of sour is beyond flavor and the only other flavor that doesn't become overpowered is a cigar/cigarette ash taste that must be burnt coffee.