Mortal Cherry
Tröegs Brewing Company

 

9/26/20...deep crimson red, like wine, no foam. Soft cherry nose, faint. Woodsy tart nose. Slight cherries too. Has a red wine aftertaste. Back bitter. Slight tartness and has clearly mellowed with time.

A big old thanks to Ryan for surprising me with this one. This is a true old school beer "want" of mine from back when it all began. Like meeting a long lost sibling. Thanks man.

12.7oz bottle - bottled 2018 - poured into a tulip at 50°F.

Pours an absolutely jammy black cherry purple - glowing brilliantly scarlet when held to the light. Slight haze. A finger of very loose, fizzy, mauve head fizzles up and quixkly reduces to a sparkling top and thin rim of fine bubbles fed by the constant streaming effervescence. Beautiful.

Nose: Right off the bat, there is a big burst of tart cherry blanketed over an impressive balance of acetic and lactic tartness, leaning ever-so-slightly towards acetic, though never burning the nostrils. There is some friendly funk, though nothing goooozie, and a nice presence of dry oak, along with a ton of minerality and a touch of bandaid does in fact lend a slight kreeekie vibe. As it warms, a hint of horse stable peeks through, slightly deepening the complexity. Tart, natural cherry first and foremost.

Palate: To begin with, a mosty-lacto tartness kicks things off and stays nicely restrained - not Side Project sour, but more than say a gose. The cherries are prominent, yet don't actually take the lead as you'd expect. There's no searching for them - they're there, but they seem to run parallel to the rest of the ale, rather than dominating like a Kriek. A little punch of pedio lends just a bruise of acetic tartness that plays second fiddle to the lactobacillus. Now, none of this is what stands out to me. Moments after the Cherry greets the palate, there is an absolute explosion of cinnamon. Not Ceylon cinnamon, but like a spicy, floral, Amburana-like cinnamon note. This truly translates as a cinnamon crusted cherry pie. Is there cinnamon added? Is it a note lent by one of the exotic oaks used? I'm not sure, and I don't care, because that cinnamon note alone makes this whole thing come together. Right now. Over me. Highly attenuated, mostly Montmorency, but some deeper sweet Balaton does darken it a bit. Easy to moderate sourness - mostly lactic, some acetic, a ton of exotic floral cinnamon, a whisper of light farmhouse funk, leading into a super dry, tannic, oaky finish, with a dusting of cinnamon, a kiss of vanilla, and some dusty, bretty overripe peach pit. Clean finish, with lingering dry cherry.

Mouthfeel/Body: The body is fairly light, but there's enough weight to it where I would feel comfortable calling it medium-light. It's still a 6.6% ABV wild ale, and it's still incredibly crisp, snappy, and very dry. Lively, but very fine effervescence gives this plenty of spritz, but it's not as aggressive as champagne. Zero cling. Zero booze. Slightly tannic, like a dry red wine.

Overall: This is a well-made, well-rounded cherry wild ale that is both tame and subdued, yet displays some genuine complexity. Perhaps the cherries have faded a bit since 2018. If this had some more prominent cherry with a touch of jammy/preserve quality, it would be truly world class. As it is, it is still an absolutely worthy wild ale, and while the fruit, funk, or potency isn't in your face, it has nuance and character, and the Amburana-like cinnamon flavour really gives this ale something that others do not have. Approachable enough to casually reach for, and colourful enough to sit down and pick apart. Very nice.

$ 14.69 (Including tax and discount)/12.7 oz cork and cage bottle ($ 1.157/oz) from State Line Liquor, Elkton, MD. Reviewed 8/20/19.
“Bottled on 5/17/2018” stamped on shoulder above front label. On shelf in store. Stored at 42 degrees and served at 58 degrees in a hand washed and dried imperial pint glass.
Appearance – 4.
First pour – Indian red, hazy.
Body – Very deep maroon, opaque. When held to the light, still opaque.
Head – Small (Maximum one cm, aggressive center pour), pink, fizzy and medium density, doesn’t last long enough to get above one cm, rapidly dying to leave a crown the thickness of a single tiny bubble and no cap.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4 – Distinct sweet cherry.
Flavor – 4.5 - Begins with tart cherry and becomes tarter as time passes. No malt, no hops. No alcohol taste or aroma (6.6 % ABV), no diacetyl, no dimethylsulfide.
Palate – 3.5 – Medium, watery, soft carbonation.
Impression and interpretation – 4 – An excellent take on a cherry-based wild ale, with the tartness balancing the natural cherry sweetness, lacking the cough syrup flavor and consistency of many cherry-based brews. Expensive but worth the occasional splurge.

cherry juice. more of a lambic very tasty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12.7oz corked & caged bottle bought at the brewery yesterday and consumed last night. bottle 5/17/18, so a day old. freshest beer ever!

Notes from the bottle. "Each Spring, the sudden flowering of cherry blossoms serves as a reminder. What's ordinary one day may dazzle the next. In Mortal Cherry, what starts as a pie crust like blend of wheat and pilsner malt is wholly transformed by a union of cherries. Balaton add notes of sweet pit fruit and cinnamon, while Montmorency keep this Pennsylvania Wild Ale delicate and tart".

Deep red wine colored body with a small fizzy pinkish head which maintains in some form throughout the drink. Minimal lacing, good carbonation.

There is a light aroma of pie crust and cherry.

This tastes like a tart cherry pie, pastry and all. Not getting any of the mentioned cinnamon, but there is a light sourness to it. Good tasting beer.

Mouth is between medium and full, finish is tart and cherries.

all in all, a very enjoyable drink, assuming you like cherry pie that is. (I do) The flavors are strong, the tartness and sourness is dialed back a bit, but clearly present. happy to have another in reserve.