Splinter Blue
Tröegs Brewing Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

750ml bottle generously shared at jlindros 30th birthday tasting by Duffy and Kyle. Big thanks for getting the opportunity to try this major want of mine. Poured into a Sierra Nevada 30th anniversary glass.

A - Pours a well hazed, pale grapefruity juice looking liquid in the glass. A fizzy, thin head of white bubbles forms briefly and falls to the surface leaving only a thin collar of bubbles and not much for lacing.

S - Super funky and barnyard! Tons of brett influence here. Powdered sugar, cherries galore, super tart and sour! I am liking this a lot.

T - Lots of cherry up front to make the first impression. Sweet, a bit sugary overall although quite tart and sour. Funk isn't as strong as in the aroma but definitely here to make an impact at a medium level intensity. Very nice.

M - Thin/medium body with a very high carbonation that gives a foamy feel in the mouth...nice and funky and tart.

O - Definitely didn't let me down. Been wanting to try this for a long time after being unsuccessful in landing a bottle myself. Glad to try this one!

 

 

 

 

Review from notes. Tasted this at Ryan's Labor Day tasting 2011.

L - Wow, great color - translucent red/blue, nice spritely top bubbles.

S - Nice tart, touch of cherry skin, the wheat actually goes a long way in the nose too.

T - Solid! Again, wheat and nice tart cherry, perhaps nearly imperceptible blueberry - tastes very summery.

F - Pleasant and smooth flowing. Once more the wheat from the Dreamweaver has contributed its part to make this smoooth.

O - Refreshing, though not overly complex or fruit-forward.

 

 

Damn near as perfect a beer as I could imagine. The brett, cherries, wheat, and oak are all in harmony.

This poured a beautiful rose color, and smelled or sour cherries, oak, and brett.

The taste was all flavor to savor, with each sip allowing the combination of flavors to shine. The nose matched the flavor, and the carbonation was just perfect. Despite some reports of gushers, I found this carbonation to be spot on fine.

Mouthfeel was smooth and silky with tiny prickly bubbles, just how I like it.

Overall, I'd drink this stuff everyday if I could. Troegs, make this a regular. seriously.

 

 

Enjoyed at JLindros' Birthday whale tasting last month. Thanks to Duffy and Kyle for sharing. Reviewed from notes.

A - Poured into a Kate the Great tulip a hazy light pinkish cherry hue with a very, very nice two finger head that leaves a light blanket and good, solid lacing.

S - Alright! Cherries really pop on the nose; tart and sour. Some nice vanilla notes and brett/lambic aromas round things off.

T - Taste is lots of big, tart, sour cherries. Light funk, faint vanilla notes as well as barrel notes. Just slightly, slightly flemmy with some light wheat/grassy notes too.

M - Mouthfeel is quite nice. High carbonation here but almost to the point of being distracting.

O - Overall a very nice sour cherry wild here. Quite well balanced and tasty.

Shared at my Birthday whale tasting. Thanks to Duffy and Kyle for sharing.

Pours a big fizzy bubbly head, wild looking style head but a bit of lacing, bigger than expected too, hazy reddish orange color.

Nose Sour fruit, wild funk, some Brett horsehair funk, tart cherry and lambic notes.

Taste has big tart cherries, tart fruit, little wild Brett funk, some sourness, light wheat base and lambic flavors, grassy even, fairly tart finish, long finish with sour cherries, tart, little flemmy.

Mouth is lighter bodied, nice carb.

Overall quite nice, nice sourness, good tart cherries, nice overall flavors, quite well done.

 

 

 

Bottle (2010)

Thanks for opening this with me, VaTechHopHead!

(Aged for 2+ years)

Violet and dark rose in color with an eggshell-white head. Leaves spots of stick down the glass.

Vibrant cherry with big notes of dirt/earth Brett character. Funky and fruity, I like it.

The flavor is complex--much more so than the aroma would indicate. A lovely combination of an interesting earthy/dirty/Fall leaves funk, and lots of vibrant, juicy cherry flesh and skin character. Moderate sourness, but not over the top.

Medium to near full in body for the style with low/moderate carbonation. Perhaps a bit heavy.

Exceptional. One of the favorites among a star-studded tasting.

 

 

Poured into a tulip.

3.0 A: Moderately hazed medium orange color. Fizzy white head that falls almost as fast as it forms.

4.0 S: Oddly enough, it still resembles Dreamweaver fairly well. Clove, banana, and pepper bring back good memories of Pittsburgh where I drank a ton of Dreamweaver. Cherries add a layer of complexity, but they don't come through with a lot of strength (at this age anyway). Tart fruitiness and some tanginess, but not a lot of pure sourness. Lemon and apple notes. Funk is an outdoorzy funk featuring apple orchard, wood, and forest after a rain.

4.5 T: The taste is where all the components come together. Clove, pepper, and banana from the base. Tart cherry from, well, the cherries. Potent oak with vanillins and a touch of supple tannins. Brett funk gives apple orchard, clean sewer, forest, and wet wood. Notes of lemon, apple, and pear. Quite mellow and refined while also being sophisticated and complex. Very tasty beer.

4.0 M: Light to lighter medium body. Good moderate carbonation. Lightly prickly and bubbly and superbly smooth.

4.5 D: This beer is criminally drinkable, where the crime is that Troegs only made 400 bottles of this. Not a super sour beer and I've certainly had others with way more funk, but this brings all the flavors together in a way that brings the best out of everything.

750mL corked & caged bottle poured into a tulip. Crazy thanks to Andy for sharing! Never thought I would get a chance to try this one.

(A)- Pours a hazy rose-blush color that produced some white froth that dissipated quickly. Minimal lace.

(S)- A super dry by oaky tartness surrounded with hints of berry -like fruits. Ever so slightly funky.

(T)- Similar to the smell, though far more sourness than expected. Really nice dry oaky bits in there that meshes quite nicely with the berry (raspberry, strawberry, blueberry) fruits.

(M)- A really nice bubbly carbonation level. Balance is real good too with the sour, oak, and fruits. Harmonious is really the best word I can use here.

(O)- This is just plain nice. A lovely balance of oak, fruit, and sour that just helps it be that much more drinkable . Very well done!

750 ml cork and caged bottle poured into a Bruery tulip.

Chaney, you're one generous MFer!

A - Splinter Blue pours a hazy apricot orange color with a fizzy off white head that disappears quickly due to the beers acidity.

S - Woody acidic barnyard sourness erupts from this beer with an orgasmic aroma! Light tart fruitiness trails behind with very tannic cherry skin and little hops or malt to ground it as a "beer".

T - Light blueberry and faint raspberry fruitiness trail behind the funky acidic sour power that is Splinter Blue! Barnyard and acid isn't overpowering, instead, it compliments the fruit. "Beer qualities" (i.e. typical malt and hop flavors) are absent.

M - Prickly carbonation dances on the tongue while the sourness and acidity of the beer grip the taste buds with gentle force. Light-bodied and smooth, this drinks like a dream.

O - Splinter Blue is a great American Wild that marries fruit and sour without getting too big with either. Delicious and drinkable, this sour power is a fantastic offering from the Tröegs brothers!

 

 

 

Thank you, Peter.

Mildly hazy pinkish red with a thin, white head that falls off quickly leaving no lacing, this beer looks OK. The nose, OTOH, is quite nice. Bright with cherries and wheat with a nice Brett funk present, this is fairly simple but well-balanced and refreshing. Some lactic notes are also present.

The palate opens with bright, ripe, red cherries with some cherry skin and minimal tannin character. A nice balance between the fruit sweetness and fruit sourness is present. A mild lemony sourness is also present. Drying on the finish with a little oak and a light tannin presence, this light bodied beer has a medium-high level of carbonation. Refreshing, enjoyable.

Shared at one of the Jackie O's releases, getting caught up on notes.

Definite gusher - as if it were shaken up.

Caramel colored at first, but quite light in color density with red/rose and orange hues in the light.

Smells nice and funky, sour, quite acidic, but she mellows over time.

Tastes sour but never really puckering. Blueberry and cherry flavors.

Extremely dry mouthfeel. This was a nice beer, but not worth the extreme hype it was getting when it was first released.

 

 

Courtesy of MordorMongo, thanks Scott!

This beer pours a light bodied dark strawberry gold in color with a highly carbonated one finger white head. The nose is fruity and tart. It has some tart strawberry and blueberry. It is beyond approachable. The tartness and funk intermingled perfectly with the fruit character. The flavors are a mix of dry and funky Blueberry and strawberry sours with light brett. It's dry, earthy, funky. It's also a bit floral. I love it! It drinks very light with a lot of carbonation. It's very effervescent. This beer is superb, all around superb. The fiance loved it too. It was very unique and very good simultaneously. If this is ever available again I'm definitely going to search it out.