I cracked a BA 2016 Ivan the Terrible by Big Sky, MT at a bottle share 4/29/17. The taste seemed off, a bit infected maybe? I've had it before different years tho. I called Big Sky Brewing and left a message. They called back left a message saying it's not infected but taste changes a bit every year. I understand that but the bottle seemed off. I have another unopened bottle. Anyone else had issues with the 2016?
Mine was terrible. I sent a tweet and an email asking if there had been issues. No response. At least you got a call back albeit with a lame response. There is definitely a problem with that beer.
It says terrible on the name right? Mine was not good at all - had way too much carbonation and just didn't seem very good. I wouldn't guess infected, since it wasn't super sour. It just tasted like a mediocre stout with too much carb.
Glad I only bought one bottle of 2016. I normally sit on this one for quite a few years before cracking so that's unfortunate to hear.
First year actually buying a bottle of this and don't know if it was infected but definitely wasn't good. Heard it was good in the past but if they were anything like the over carbonated mess I tried this year than I will gladly pass in the future.
Thanks for the input. I knew it wasn't just me thinking it was bad. I've had other years and they were good. Surprised the brewer said that he thought it was good. Pretty disappointing because I used to live in Missoula and go visit every year. Oh well hope the 2017 batch is better.
For anyone calling them, it would be telling if they don't bother asking for the date from the bottle, where you bought it, or other info. Breweries, like any company producing a consumable, likely get many complaints, most of which are not valid. Still, the consumer is your "canary" if a real problem does turn up - just ask Goose Island or any other brewer who has had real issues, often denied initially. While I can understand reluctance to admit there could be an issue, I'd expect they would at least collect information to look for a pattern on the off chance there is a real issue.
No personal information, but my friend warned me not to buy any 2016 BA Ivans because his was bad, over carbonated, and "something was off," in line with what you guys are saying.
While overcarbonation is an issue, did you guys try decarbing the beer a bit to see if it improved the taste?
Can someone explain what the perceived 'off-flavor' was? It's in instances like this that I'd gladly pay an extra 25 cents per bottle for the brewery to get it tested before they sell it. Thankfully other breweries are wising up to this, and I'd like to applaud them (Powder Keg) for delaying their releases until they are tested vs. retroactively testing them only if they receive complaints. I would say this should be critical for Big Sky as I feel like BA Ivan is one of their best beers and I'd hate for them to lose business because of one bad batch.
I've been buying a single bottle of this beer for the past 3-5 years and I always tell myself that something is off. Honestly, I don't think its infection, it's just their oak barrel aging.
Opened 2016 bottle #3669 tonight. In my opinion, absolutely something went wrong. Thought I was drinking (smelling) a sour beer. Drinking in Missoula and didn't think about taking the bottle directly to Big Sky before dumping and reading these comments. I drink regular Ivan all the time and can't believe the barrel made it taste this way. I drink BA beers all the time and have never had one taste like this. I have two more 2016 and a 2015 in my cellar. I will certainly know if it was a bad bottle if the others taste different.
Interesting. I spend most of my time over in the Great Lakes forum, but have family in CO and ID so occasionally I pop up in the Mountain forum. There was a brief discussion about this in a stout thread in GL. Several people thought similar things. I opened a bottle with a friend of mine and we felt it was definitively off - possibly infected, or at the very least just not a very good beer. The cork practically shot out of it when I opened it. No gusher, but big head and tasted off not only in aroma, but also flavor. There was some weird brown funk that was on the bottom of the cork and stuck on the neck of the bottle. I have photos somewhere because it really stood out to us as off. Buddy I drank it with is a long time homebrewer and he said it could be from bottle conditioning or yeast sediment somehow, but wouldn't explain the off flavors. I have a bottle that we haven't gotten around to opening yet, but I've been keeping it in the fridge just in case...
Just drain poured two 2016 bottles tonight. I thought maybe the first one was infected and the second would be good. That how I searched and found this string. Both were very sour, just like the infected BCBS from 2015 that I had. The one I had fresh last year was very good. So disappointing.
