St. Dekkera Reserve: Excommunié Trois
DESTIHL Brewery

 

 

 

A - Pours a hazy amber with a three finger foamy white head. The head falls quickly leaving a good amount of soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is lemon, green apple, apricot, white peeper and oak.

T - The taste follows the aroma. Green apple, lemon, apricot, peaches, white vinegar, vanilla and oak throughout. The finish has a lingering acidic tartness.

M - Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Soft creamy mouthfeel with a crisp dry finish.

O - There is a lot going on here. A great balance of sweet and tart.

 

 

500 ml bottle into chalice, bottled on 1/19/2015. Pours lightly hazy orange/amber color with a 1 finger dense and fluffy off white head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Nice spotty soapy lacing clings around the glass, with a moderate amount of streaming carbonation retaining the cap. Aromas of big sour lemon, lime, apricot, peach, green apple, pear, white grape, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, musty funk, wheat, cracker, light honey, oak, vanilla, light white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt notes; with great strength. Taste of big sour lemon, lime, apricot, peach, green apple, pear, white grape, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, musty funk, wheat, cracker, light honey, oak, vanilla, light white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Moderate amount of fruity/acidic tartness and tannic oak/yeast spiciness on the finish; with lingering notes of sour lemon, lime, apricot, peach, green apple, pear, white grape, white wine, peppercorn, hay, straw, musty funk, wheat, cracker, light honey, oak, vanilla, light white vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; with a great malt/tartness/spiciness balance and zero astringent flavors after the finish. Moderate dryness from acidity/spiciness as well. Medium carbonation and body; with a very smooth, moderately acidic/tannic/sticky, and lightly creamy/bready balanced mouthfeel that is great. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warmth lingering after the finish. Overall this is an outstanding sour tripel style. All around awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of fruity/funky/acidic yeast, oak barrel, and moderate pale malt flavors; and very smooth and easy to sip on with the balanced malt/acidity. Loved the amount of oak barrel presence in this one as well. A highly enjoyable offering.

Translucent orange ale. Minimal head. Funky and acidic, vinegar, tropical, white grape aroma. Fruit flavor up front, mostly tart apple, white grape and pineapple. Moderately tart acetic and citric acid. Subtle wood. Solid yeast funk. Medium body, sticky feel. Lively bubbles. Very good sour beer.

 

 

 

Not at all sure what to expect with this one. My first Destihl, my first sour tripel... 500 ml bottle into a champagne flute.

A - Looks like a tripel, maybe a bit darker. Somewhat hazy deep orange, with bubbles streaming everywhere. Copious off-white head looks like it will stick around for a couple of minutes. Nice.

N - I -smell it from a couple of feet away, but I'm not sure what I smell. Let me get in there... wow, tons of tartness. I dunno if I can explain, but it seems like there's a lot of tartness without it being overly tart, does that make sense? Underlying the tartness is a classic tripel aroma of banana. Let's dig in.

T - This is extremely complex. Yes, the most dominating characteristic is the tartness, but it's not incredibly sour; it's just that the sourness is omnipresent. Still not sure I'm explaining that so well; I guess you'll have to try it yourself. Very fruity, but which fruits? Stone fruit, like peaches and apricots, maybe a little mango. Funky. Really good.

N - I feel like I've said this for every beer I've had recently, but it's true nonetheless. This turns to froth the second it hits my mouth. Then the bubbles are everywhere, even though this is a sipper, and I'm taking very small sips. Impressively done.

O - If this is what Destihl has to offer sour-wise, then I'm in for some good times ahead, as I've got several more from the series. Well done all around.