Just opened a bottle and while it didn't gush, it foamed uncontrollably on pouring. Aroma was red wine and tart fruit. It definitely didn't have the "viscous" pour or "creamy body" described. Now, I know this was released in March and, now that I read the bottle, it says "consume fresh." So my questions: Has anyone else experienced this? I see some instagram and untappd comments about infection, but no bigger thread or commentary. Is it unreasonable to think that this beer should be drinkable 7 months after release? I got it in a trade about 5 months after release and just wanted to wait for fall to drink it.
Haven't with Nib Smuggler, but I had the same crazy gusher problem with BA Muy Bonita (and it was infected to all hell)... but I'm sure your probably aware of that with BAMB as it's been pretty well documented... but, same brewery... hope it's not a recurring theme..
that beers is not meant to be cellared.....it was drinking just ok about 3 months ago, you can tell it was falling quick.... edit: most breweries are telling you now when to drink the beer, they print it right on the label...
First one I had was 3-4 months back and exactly as you describe, rather nasty (though not as sour and gross as the Vanilla Noir we opened in the same sitting) no one finished either bottle. Then a friend brought one up one last week that was perfect, creamy milk chocolate goodness with a nice vanilla flavor. Saying that the beer should have been consumed fresh is not an excuse for infected batches, old beer does not turn sour unless the beer was infected from the start. I sure hope they dont screw up Snowed In.
This is completely false....I highly doubt this beer is infected...its the case of too many people holding beer for too long, sending it all over the country multiple times on hot temperature shipping vehicles. The word infected gets thrown around way too much...if a beer doesn't taste exactly the way it should, then the torch and pitchfork crew get together and go on an infection witch hunt....drink the beer when you should, avoid this BS....and with an attitude like that I really hope they kill it with BA Snowed in and you dont ever get to try any....
Buddha fan here. BAMB had problems. There's no denying this. I also think the bottles of Blueberry Cobbler that I tried had a sour twang that I didn't get on draft. I'm not the only one to notice this. Untappd is littered with comments of infected BC bottles. I don't think it's unreasonable for a brewery to suggest to drink fresh. But let's be frank, a properly made and bottled beer may lose some flavors but it should not show signs of infection in a matter of weeks. If one assumes the bottle is properly sealed then the likelihood of a contaminant/infection seems far more probable than mishandling bottles after the point of sale. A beer is simply not that fragile in my mind. I'm to a point where I no longer trade the Buddhas bottles. I will give them as extras and if they are good that's a bonus. I always tell the traders up front that they could have issues.
Well, the name of the brewery is FUNKY buddha....not sure why anyone's surprised or what the fuss is about....
I completely agree that people say "infected" too easily. I've argued with friends bout the application of that term to beers that are just a bit old and faded. But when I poured a 1/2 inch into a tulip it foamed to fill the tulip with big, loose bubbles. The aroma was, as I mentioned, all red wine and tart fruit. Would this be the result of just shipping cross country or letting a "chocolate porter" age for 7 months? (Serious question, not rhetorical). Blaming the consumer when there is a theme of QC problems seems like a bad idea. I didn't intend to cellar it and, to be honest, I didn't read the fine print on the label. I don't make a habit of thoroughly reading labels of every beer I acquire ... or, any, really. Having had chocolate porters that were more than a few months old that were wonderful - Caldera's Mogli and Beachwood's Mocha Machine, to name two - I supposed this wouldn't turn into a sour foamy mess. To be clear, a bit of fade wouldn't upset me unduly - I'd chalk it up to a "lesson learned" on chocolate porters. After looking at the label I will note, however, that in addition to "Drink Fresh" (what is "fresh" for a porter, btw - a week, a month, 6 months?) it also says "Quality. Integrity. Passion. Made With Pride." Being 0 for 2 on my last bottles of FB beers ... I'm now dreading opening the Blueberry Cobbler. Hadn't hear that one had souring issues TOO!
I opened mine last night; it was acceptable but didn't have the bright flavors or intense vanilla / dough aroma I was led to expect. I'm coming to the conclusion that if you get FB beers drink them ASAP and don't trade for them outside of 90 days. For what it's worth, I wrote to FB and they said they would buy back any unopened bottles and give me a pint or two on the house for the trouble. This isn't possible for me - both because I only got a bottle of each and they've been opened AND because I'm in Washington - but might be of interest to local folks that are now worried about opening bottles. They also claim that they hadn't heard about issues with Nib Smuggler. Leads me to believe that many people brushed issues aside since they weren't as horrible as those with BA Muy Bonita ... and that breweries don't tend to look at reviews on Beer Advocate or Untappd since there are definitely a number of reports. Man - if I had a brewery, particularly one where there are some QC problems / infection reports, you better believe I'd be looking at reviews all the time to get ahead of issues. That said, I'm sure running a brewery takes a lot of time & effort so not completely surprised they aren't.
