Brooklyn Cuvee de Cardoz

Brewed by Brooklyn Brewery
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Brooklyn, New York USA

This beer is a bizarre experience - I’ve never tasted a beer that had so much going on, and yet seemed to lack something that held it all together - the aroma smacks you in the face with lemongrass and tamarind, but deeper sniffs reveal ginger and fennel, light hints of coconut milk - moderate carbonation, fairly light-bodied for the strength - fennel and coconut are fairly apparent in the flavor at first - moderate honey sweetness, banana - notes of clove and ginger through the middle - and odd, celery-like flavor that must be the result of one of the many spices in this beer - finishes with mild alcohol heat and a touch of pepper - the paradox of this beer: it has too much going on, yet not enough; I can’t shake the feeling that something is missing - anyway, an interesting, albeit not completely great drinking experience.

Draft at Trappeze. Basically, a Saison with some spices. Alcohol is well hidden. Not a fan.

Growler filled at Big Z. Pours a mostly clear gold with a moderate white head that completely disappeared after two or three sips and left very little lace. Pleasant aroma of banana, yeast, and several spices / herbs that I cannot individually identify other than to say there are more than one. The flavor is similar with banana, yeast and a combination of spices and herbs. It wasn’t until I looked at the commercial description that I saw the long list of spices added to this beer, holy crap! Sweet, but not sugary. Bright and lively on the palate. Enjoyable.

On draft at R & H. Pours a lightly cloudy yellow gold with a medium white head. Aroma of light cloves and banana. Taste of light cloves and banana. Watery.

Tap at Nachbar. Piss poor yellow body with slight haze and a nonexistant, too-fast-fading white head. No lace. Aroma and flavor exhibit typical saison characteristics - bannana, yeast, coriander, slightly citric. The one plus is that the alcohol is very well hidden. Palate is smooth and NOT over carbonated, which was very pleasing. Very drinable for the abv, but nothing special by any means.

Tap at barleys. Hazy gold pour thin off white head. White grapes and perfumy spice on the nose. Clean and refreshing flavor, fairly complex. Lots of spices and tropical fruit. A little too over the top in the spice department

Draft at RNH. Pours a golden body with a white head. Rumpleminz (sp?) well anyway its like a minty licorice really wild brew here, i could probably drink a few as i love licorice. To guess at the rest i’d have to say something like ginger and coconut. Nice brew.

Tap at Rattle’n’Hum. Super nutty, marzipan, coconut flavor. Yeast, gin, caramel apple. Surprisingly complex, coming from Brooklyn. Aroma is rich, super spicy, peppery, banana, peppermint. Crazy! Over the top yeast and spices. Very unique. Could use more carbonation. Despite its huge complexity the beer was still a bit lacking.

Looking at the commercial description now, its pretty clear where all that spicyness comes from. Yikes!