Is an infected beer always bad?

Avery's Black Tot was awesome before and after infection.

 

Dislike.

 

Craftsman ended up with a sour Edgar's and a sour braggot. The braggot was ridiculously good. Edgar's was decent.

 

I totally agree on the Batch 2 Boulevard Imperial Stout. I had one in the cellar and decided to drink it last weekend since it was "infected". Man was it awesome. Wish I would have bought more of that one.

 

They are recalling it...

http://www.centralwaters.com/

Got get your $$.

 

Ohh infection... it's like your zany uncle that shows up to a party and you never know what he's going to do.

I've had many terrible experiences with infection (Red Brick's Smoked Vanilla Gorilla, Ithaca's Old Habit, Alpine's Barrel Aged Token, etc.) And in all cases, the beer was an absolute drain-pour.

However sometimes it spins the beer in a different, yet still delicious, direction. Boulevard's Imperial Stout Batch 2 was slightly infected with brett, and it's incredible. I talked to their head brewer at Extreme Beer Fest last February, and he mentioned that the brewery knew of the infection before the release. But they decided to release the beer because it was too interesting, and awesome, to not let the public try it. I've actually traded for a few bottles of this "infected" beer, and would love to trade for more of it in the future.

 

I hope this becomes a new trend. I recently had an imperial stout aged with Brett by de molen and it was wonderful. Now I really want to try this infected boulevard imperial stout.

 

The infected 09 Abyss not to bad for the first couple of years. I had a taste of one a couple of months ago though and it was really starting to taste crapy.

 

Is there a particular batch of Peruvian Morning that is infected?

 

That was intentional. They used whatever bacteria culture St. Somewhere uses in their beers. Recently they've switched back to how it was originally brewed, from what I've heard.

 

The intended version vs the infected version; I believe every time the non-infected version wins. I was not a fan at all of that infected batch. Just my two cents though.

 

Normally I'd agree with you, but I was underwhelmed and disappointed by regular Chocolate Ale and thought the infection added some nice depth. It tasted almost intentional - with a nice tart, fruity dryness that complemented the chocolate well, almost reminiscent of Jackie O's Grand Wazoo (just less raspberry.)

I guess since it's an infection it's all about how long you sit on it and what it's infected by. I've had mine almost a year at cellar temp.

 

I traded for one. Haven't opened it yet, but I'm looking forward to it. On a side note, it has a strangely high fill level.