Alpine Beer Company Ichabod Ale (2007)

Formerly brewed at Alpine Beer Company (CA)
Style: Sour Ale
Alpine, California USA

A- Pours a murky dark orange/brown hue, head is a thin layer of white condensed bubbles that sustain, moderate lacing S- Nose is surprisingly tart fruits reminiscent of Sweet Tarts, some cherries and pumpkin I think, oak and spices T- Initial taste is full of tartness, more than I’ve ever gotten from a beer, that overrides all the other flavors, still some hints of pumpkin and wood come through, as does an intriguing cola-like essence, finishes sweet and tart M- Medium-bodied, watery texture, high carbonation D- This is one crazy ale that scores major points for originality and uniqueness, I thought this would be more like a traditional sour ale but this tartness puts it in its own category, while the alcohol is well-masked, the tart and carbonation make this difficult to drink in large quantities but it is quite a treat to try out at least once.

22 oz bottle, via bu11zeye. Pours a hazy orange brown body with lots of carbonation, nice foamy white head with excellent retention. Very spicy nose, cinnamon and nutmeg overlies the earthy and meaty pumpkin, a bit of brett but not a whole lot. The flavor is huge cinnamon first off, with lots of nutmeg that fades to reveal a creamy, crusty bready, pumpkin pie lingering finish. Later in the finish a slightly tannic red wine oakiness emerges. The mouthfeel is pretty crisp with a nice tannic dryness on the finish. There is a lot going on in this beer. Can not say that there was a whole lot of sourness per se, but it did have a bit of funk. Very good.

Bottle: Cloudy, floater orange. Solid sheet of tan froth. Nose was strongly funky and sour with a background of spice. Sour, woody, very flemish-red clean flavors. I dont taste anything remarkably ’’holiday’’ about this beer or any pumpkin, but regardless, it’s a very nice, clean, sour ale.

<i>From a 22oz Bottle.</i> Mostly hazy, deep rusty amber color with a fizzy layer of beige head. Initially, the aroma bursts forth with brett, bringing out notes of grape skins, leather, and must. Distinct red wine tones follow. After becoming accustomed to the heavy brett presence, a wondeful, fleshy baked pumpkin body begins to show itself, spiced delicately with cinnimon and nutmeg. Toffee and a light caramel malt sweetness adds some more depth. Light bodied, moderately heavy carbonation with a bold acidity. Lots of funky brett tartness jumps out right away on the tongue, along with some dry red wine acidity. After the initial burst of sourness, some faint bready and caramel malt sweetness comes out with some of the pumpkin spices. The brett gets rather dry and leathery in the finish, lingering in the final smack with lots of spicy oak. Interesting beer; the nose is amazing, but the flavors, while tasty, don’t deliver the same complexity promised by the nose.

Rusty-amber in colour with a thin off-white coloured head, very light lacing. The aroma is lightly spiced, floral, some perfume, some sweetness. The flavour is of spice, some toffee sweetness, floral. Heavy mouthfeel, medium body, medium carbonation. Finishes sweet with a bit of spice.

This one didn’t really work for me. Not getting a whole lot of pumpkin but this mix was just bizarre. Rudy summed this up perfectly when he said "I don’t understand what just happened in my mouth."

650ml bottle obtained in a trade with TheCheeseMan, thanks Dan.
Opened on March 29, 2008
No date.

22oz bottle. Pours a thick, hazed, dark copper with a thin off white film on top. Plenty tart and sour on the nose with little of the spices and pumpkin. Cherry skin, tart grape skin and oak. Wild yeast funk, leaf pile, dry earth. Nice. This one took a while to open up. Much better after a half our or so out of the fridge. The pumpkin, nutmeg and cinnamon are much more prevalent on the tongue than the nose. Some bretty funk. Loads of barrel tannin. Very earthy. Restrained acidity at first but becoming more and more tart the longer the beer sits. More earthy pumpkin that the spices. Rich and creamy mouthfeel with lively and mouth filling carbonation. Finishes dry, tart, moderately acidic. A very cool and unique experiment. Thanks a ton for this rare treat Markus!

Bottle... Hazy orange ale with a mid-sized, creamy, off-white head. Terrific retention. Acidic, spicy nose with notes of wood, underripe red apple, autumn spice and pumpkin. Medium-bodied with a watery mouthfeel and lively carbonation. Tart, tangy flavor provides lots of bretty acidity and moderate bitterness with a restrained undertone of autumn spice. Finishes crisp and moderately pungent. Thanks go out to WeeHeavySD for shipping the bottle all the way from SoCal!

Bomber. Poured slightly hazy medium orange with some rising carbonation and a short, fizzier cap of beige head. The aroma picked up deep, sour red grape and cherry skins, nutmeg, and lesser pumpkin meat upfront with cinnamon and other spices rising as it warmed up.. I dug the sour fruity notes and the use of the wine barrel. The flavor had a definite Belgian-inspired brown ale base with some caramel and darker fruits complemented by a bit of funky yeast.. the pumpkin and related spices didn’t do much until the back-end, joining a dry red wine and oak presence.. finished sour, dry, and strangely refreshing. Medium-bodied with a whole bunch of carbonation on the palate.. not the best feel on the palate, but I did like the barrel usage.. odd one, but tasty.