Concord Rapscallion Creation

Formerly brewed at Concord Brewery
Style: American Strong Ale
Lowell, Massachusetts USA

Pours a dark ruby brown colour with a small tan head. Aroma is fruity, dark fruits mostly and 9.5 abv alcohol makes it’s apparency. Initial taste begins fruity, blueberry and cherry make their presence. Slightly sour finishing with a soft chocolate and dark fruits on the palate. Very lively carbonation close to a wine cooler. Light body with some head retention.

Draft... Very dark, clear ruby ale with a small, creamy, off-white head. Decent retention. The aroma wafts a marriage of blueberries, black cherries, leather, tobacco, wood and vanilla. Well-balanced flavor in all aspects... moderately sweet; medium to heavily tangy; lightly bitter. Vinous, dark fruit notes. Medium-bodied and spritzy. Lengthy, acidic, fruity finish. Very entertaining American strong ale. Kudos to growler for sharing his bottle with me!

The beer pours a muddy brownish red with dark orange. The initial aroma after pouring is appley sweet aromas mixed with a light perfuminess. After settling the sweet caramel malty aromas also come thru. The taste is at first sweet but finishes with a little tartness. The finish is a dry slightly bitter, peppery taste. The beer has a thinner, less viscous mouthfeel than I expected. Overall an enjoyable interesting beer.

12oz bottle-pours a bubbly light tan head and deep ruby red color. Aroma is dark fruit-sweet, dark malt-caramel. Taste is dark fruit-sweet, dark malt-caramel, faint hops, some chocolate notes. Mellow, nice. OK effervescence.

Pours a light brown with dirty white head. Aroma is mildly alcoholic, with tannic cabernet oak, sour grapes, oats and mustiness. Taste is subdued but rather complex, consisting of flavors of grapes, wood, phenols, chalky baking cocoa and more sour notes. Interesting but not something I would desire again. Pleasant the way a strong, mildly sour belgian tastes with it’s acidity proving a hinderance to the overall quaffability of the finished product. Oh well. Rapscallion could be a great lineup, but feels overall like an attempt at a niche market without the needed brewing knowledge and passion to make the final product really great.

Brown body with a white head. Sour fruit and grass aroma. Similar taste, sour spices. Nice ending.

Sampled at the Richmond Beer Industry Gathering 2006. Clear dark amber body with a nearly non-existent head. Slightly sour fruity aroma. Mild sour flavor on a gentle caramel background.

Cold 12oz bottle: Pours a clear dark red with a fair amount of light tan bubbles around the edges. Aroma is of plums, spice and notes of chocolate and wood. Taste is of overly sour and acidic. I think this bottle soured. : ( Not dated; no expiration date.