Tart Of Darkness - Cherries And Vanilla
Bruery Terreux

 

2016 bottle (04/04/16)
What a unique beer. Base beer is delicious and the addition of dark cherries and vanilla kick it up a notch. You pick up on both although they are mellow at this point with an older bottle. Rich, tart, funky, and true to form from The Bruery.

 

 

 

 

750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled on 8/14/2014. Pours fairly crystal clear dark ruby red/brown color with a 1-2 finger fairly dense and fluffy khaki head with poor retention, that reduces to a ring of lace pretty quickly. Minimal spotty lacing and a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy red/black cherries, cranberry, raspberry, fruit skin/pits, peach, plum, fig, date, pear, apricot, lemon, lime, melon, red/green apple, currant, red grape/wine, vanilla, oak, hay, straw, grass, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, peppercorn, leathery/musty/lacto funk, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of cherries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, vanilla, oak barrels, and dark/bready/light roasted malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge sour/tart/tangy red/black cherries, cranberry, raspberry, fruit skin/pits, peach, plum, fig, date, pear, apricot, lemon, lime, melon, red/green apple, currant, red grape/wine, vanilla, oak, hay, straw, grass, brown sugar, and toasted bread; with lighter notes of chocolate, cocoa, coffee, peppercorn, leathery/musty/lacto funk, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy red/black cherries, cranberry, raspberry, fruit skin/pits, peach, plum, fig, date, pear, apricot, lemon, lime, melon, red/green apple, currant, red grape/wine, vanilla, oak, hay, straw, grass, brown sugar, toasted bread, light chocolate/cocoa, leathery/musty/lacto funk, and yeast/oak/toasted earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of cherries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, vanilla, oak barrels, and dark/bready/light roasted malt flavors; with a nice malt/tart/sourness and tangy fruit balance; with minimal puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering tart/sourness, tangy fruit, and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and medium body; with a smooth, creamy/grainy, and acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 7.1%. Overall this is a fantastic fruited dark sour. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of cherries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast, vanilla, oak barrels, and dark/bready/light roasted malt flavors; very smooth and easy to drink despite the moderately acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish; not too overly lactic. Fantastic balance of super jammy cherries and Brett/Bacteria complexity; with nice vanilla, oak, and dark/bready malts against acidity. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp acidic/tangy dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected.

Reviewed from (long-standing) notes. Poured from the 750mL bottle into a Cigar City Hunahpu's Imperial Stout snifter glass. 2014 bottling, consumed 2/8/16.

A: Pours a dark murky brown, with minimal visible carbonation. Only a very thin to no particular head formation.

S: Malic acid, lactic acid. Mild acetic tart. Tart cherries, vanilla, and malt sweetness. Notes of wood and chocolate as well.

T: Malic and lactic tart again up front, but still a mild acetic presence. Chocolate covered cherries, vanilla paste. Malt sweetness cuts through the tartness. Chocolate and tart acidity linger, but still manages to finishes dry in the end.

M: Maybe a lighter body than expected, but not at all watery. The alcohol presence seems restrained. Relatively low amount of carbonation sensation.

O: An enjoyable beer. I'm not sure the additions truly added much to the base beer; or perhaps more accurately, they make different beer but I'm not at all certain "better". But still pretty darn good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Seems like as good of a time as any to write a review for one of my all time favorite beers ever. This one pours a dark coloa like color, doesn't have the viscosity of a big time stout, in fact this one might be even thinner than Guinness believe it or not. Small brown cherry cola like head on the top. Aroma is dope. Usual base notes of stout, oak, tartness, the normal slight cherry feel to it is amped up and bursting here. A little bit of chocolate malt feels, not a lot of roast, if any in the nose.

Taste, here comes heaven. Somehow takes that awesomeness of the ToD regulare, and the vanilla and cherry make it even better. Still significantly sour, but now the slight acidity is tempered and whisked away with the vanilla bean while the cherry resides in the mouthfeel continuously. Always hiding alcohol well has been this beer's thing. I love how effortlessly I can score this beer, always maxing it out.

This is just a phenomenal beer in every aspect pretty much.

2016 edition from my cellar. Poured into my new Reserve glass at 45 degrees. The beer had a two finger frothy creamy head with fair retention. The head was a light tan and left no lacing on the glass. The color of the beer is dark brown and opaque.

A ripe sour cherry note emits from the beer with ease. Additional notes in the beer are vanilla, chocolate, char note, coffee, vanilla, dark stone fruit, molasses, wood, bready, and citrus.

A ripe sour cherries, with a roasted note, and vanilla are the initial flavors. Additional flavors in the beer are chocolate, dark stone fruit, citrus, molasses, wood, bready, earthy, and acidic.

The mouthfeel of the beer is sharp, clean, and fresh. The body in the beer is medium, medium-plus carbonation, and a medium-plus finish.

The beer sings on all the right notes. It sour yet, refined. The cherries and vanilla in the beer give the beer balance. Overall a very well made sour beer.

 

 

 

 

2014 Bottle.

A: Black color with an amberish hue, even microhead off white head that quickly dissipates into the glass.

A: Lots of sour cherries upfront, followed by a light chocolate malt roast, light oak with moderate sourness.

T: Sour cherries, followed by a light chocolate roast character, light oak and faint vanilla, with a moderate sourness on the finish that intensifies as the beer warms.

M: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation and moderately light, but pleasing acidity.

O: Excellent; the beer now exhibits lots of bright sour cherry flavor with an accompanying acidity that's almost reminiscent of a syrah wine. The vanilla has fallen off considerably, but the sharper sourness, has also mellowed. Quite enjoyable to drink and avoids the pitfalls of many sour stouts by not exhibiting excessive vinegary sourness,

 

 

Sour stouts are not my thing, so I never loved Tart of Darkness, even though I think it is a well-executed beer. I like the cherry and vanilla version a bit better. The vanilla really comes forward as it warms up, but I didn't get much in the way of cherry. Also, it was very fizzy with an incredibly fast dissipating head. Tasted a little overcarbonated.

 

L - Pours like the regular tart of darkness. Thin black body with a half finger fizzy khaki head.

S - Vanilla and cherries peaking through the base beer is very prominent.

T - The vanilla is with it from the beginning to the end just hiding in the back. The cherries fold in well with and compliment the base beer.

F - Light to medium bodied with medium carbonation. Dry finish.

O - We all know the base beer and these adjuncts only compliment it further.

 

 

 

 

 

750ml capped bottle into a Surly teku. Shared with schen9303.

Nose is medicinal. Notes of sweet cherry, vanilla candle, oak and a smokey tartness. Aromatic but weird. Beer opens intensely tart. Hints of sweet and tart cherry, vinegar and a biting acidity. Vanilla comes in suddenly to try to smooth over the over-the-top tartness but its too little too late and it doesn't blend with the other flavors, rather sticking out like a sore thumb. More vinegar and sour cherry at the end. Body is medium with little carbonation. Slick, sticky and puckering in the mouth and dry going down. Hard to get down.

Too much on every level. Pass on this one if you see it.

 

 

750 ml bottle into a tulip

A: Pours black with some light coming through around edges, tan colored head quickly disappeared, good amount of carbonation, no lacing.

A: Sour, tart, funk, red grapes, cherries, vanilla, smells sweet.

T: Touch of musty funk, sourness, tartness, hit of sweet cherry goodness and vanilla, oak and leather in the finish, good balance of flavors and complexity, very nice.

M: Very dry finish, good amount of carbonation, medium bodied.

O: Very nice, a toss up between regular Tart of Darkness and this, both good, this has a cream soda touch to it due to the cherries and vanilla, sweeter than regular T of D, another winner from the Bruery.