Athenaeum
Hermit Thrush Brewery

Taster pour at brewery. Hazy yellow, thin white head. Lemony, floral, savory aroma. Taste follows with lemon peel, coriander, sour, sweet. Zippy, lingering, pucker.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEVERMORE with no date visible. Served from can into an Ommegang-branded tulip.

A: Clear but not quite brilliant straw yellow with 1-2 finger off-white head with average retention and impressive lacing.

S: Quite a bit of medicinal band-aid aroma up front with more nuanced pineapple and grapefruit earthy Brett aromas along with more rugged barnyard with agitation. Not much for pale malt aromas unfortunately. Hops might lend some herbal grassy notes but hard to separate from the Brett aromas.

T: Flavor leaves me a bit conflicted as it brings a lot more Brett earthy flavors and finishes with a strange grassy haylike aftertaste. Slightly sweet and grainy pale maltiness comes in near the end and then is cut off by the herbal-grassy-sprout flavor in the finish and aftertaste. Not unpleasant, but I don’t think I’ve ever drank a beer with as distinctive a grassy flavor anywhere in the flavor profile. Bitterness is low and yeast and bacteria flavors are everywhere. Sourness is very light and doesn’t really get past tart.

M: Light bodied with high carbonation and very dry finish which accentuates the grassy, haylike finish and aftertaste. The sourness is most evident in the dry, tart finish.

O: A strange beer to say the least, unique but would be better served to have more of a pale malt presence to accompany the yeast/bacteria and herbal hop character.

 

 

4th Review, thrilled to be among top BAers reviewing this fine, stinky barnyard brew.
a) Hazed, fertile yellow body, sporting a fizzy, lasting, lacing, collaring white head.
s) One of the biggest, funkiest aromas ever, all kinds of grass and dung. Yeast and barnyard.
t) Big funky, sharp sour flavors, bold barnyard, cow, scat, and dung notes. Tempered by bright lemon, hops, and prickly carbonation. Lots of dirt, soil and dung tempered by fruit. Weird but delightful.
f) Ticklish, smooth, memorable.
o) The dankest barnyard sour I have ever tasted that works on the farm and brings the farm to the city. Try 24

 

 

Poured from the can into a tulip glass.

Very nice pale green body color, with a large lemon yellow glow. Head creation is bright bleach white in color and fades quickly, after a strong three finger easy growth. Settle quickly to a thin pencil collar.

Big funky aroma, lots of lacotb like aromas with a solid amount of cut fresh grass scents. Pretty dominant nose with not much else coming through as it's a pretty punchy amount of yeast and not much else, but a good one.

Real nice palate. Big funky and sharp sour flavors on first sip that aren't jarring. Real good bright lemon qualities in the mid palate on a simple malt backbone. A bit of prickly carbonation kicks in bringing in some of the earthy and musty tones that make a nice balance to the fruity esters coming out. Big touches of dense soil, amplified by an excellent bread dough malt aftertaste getting nearly bakery in flavor.

A real good basic sour ale. Well done.

 

 

A: The beer is very hazy pale yellow in color. It poured with a minuscule collar of bright white bubbles around the edge, a bit of lacing down the sides of the glass, and some specks of bubbles covering the surface.
S: Moderate aromas of sourness and funk are present in the nose.
T: The taste follows the smell and is both sour and funky. There are hints of green apples, but these are mostly overshadowed by funky flavors of horse blanket.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and tart on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I really liked the funk in this beer, which nearly approached the amount that you would expect in a gueuze.

Serving type: can

 

 

Poured into a tall tulip.
The appearance was a bright yellow cloudy color with a semi-sustaining cap of a little white foamy head. Once it does die off, some mild sticky messy lace.
The aroma had a wonderful lush blend of grassy to lemony hops playing with some orange pulp, grapefruit pulp and green apples. Mild funky to sour character with a gentle reminder of sour woodiness.
The flavor was moderately sour with an ample tart green apple-like character. Nice tart to sour green apple aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was between light and medium bodied with a fair sipping quality about it. Good carbonation and ABV. Definitely a crisp lemony bright to green apple sour yet dry finish.
Overall, quite a nice sour ale I would love to have again preferably in warmer weather.