Eisenbahn Lust

Brewed by Cervejaria Sudbrack
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Blumenau, Brazil

The aroma was earthy and lusty with a sweet characteristic. As the head emerged the cork was notable, but as the head retreated a bready spice (ginger) character came to life. Fruity and toasty with caramel and nuts. The beer flowed into the chalice crystal clear medium golden with a tightly bubbled effervescent head which rose tall and mighty and retreated slowly to coat the chalice from the lip to the stem. The flavor was interesting, yet not overly complex. The flavor had caramel and pepper and a lightly earthy flavor. The pepper warmed the tongue and the back of the throat, perhaps the alcohol was trying to shine through since it really only played a part in the substantial warming that occurred post consumption. The flavor was crisp and refreshing and had a light bit of caramel and toast. The body was medium with a very high carbonation level. Had the carbonation been less the body may have shown it’s true colors of medium-full. The beer was effervescent on the palate. The finish was slightly sweet with dryness occurring in the aftertaste and post consumption. A darn tasty beverage. The aroma promised more than the flavor delivered and at 27 beans the price of admission is on the steep side. Had this one been $12 less we might have had a contender, but with the price of admission it’s not going to get a repeat performance anytime soon. 750 ml corked and bailed foil wrapped bottle. $26.99 at Brawley’s.

Sweet sugary aroma. Pours pale gold with a thick head. Sweet and slightly tart, very carbonated, tangy and slightly cidery in the taste. Its really sweet tasting.

750ml bottle, bought in the US ($24.99 the bottle - yikes). Golden amber colour. Disappearing white head, but very fizzy. The biscuity malt elements in the aroma are indeed reminiscent of a Champagne, or maybe a Spanish Cava. Some sharp, acidic notes evident too. Sweeter than I expected on the palate, again with an acidic edge and a yeasty zest. Subtle tropical fruit nuances. Finishes tart but sweet with a touch of alcoholic afterburn. Quite classy (and so it should be for the price) but not too polite or refined. But I still don’t feel that these "Champagne" beers quite live up to the hype. But I feel that way about Champagne too.

Bottle at Chris_O’s, cheers Chris. Golden with a bubbly white head, quite effervescent. Nose of yeast and citrus with hints of malt. Much like champagne, tart with notes of yeast, honey and malt. Short dry finish. I’d have to agree with the others in saying it’s the best Brazilian beer I’ve had to date.

(750ml bottle) Sampled at the Post-Great Canadian Beer Festival 2007 in Victoria on September 8th, 2007. Trade courtesy of Oakes. Large lasting white head with an orange aroma. Vanilla and lots of apples. Excellent stuff. Thanks Josh!

A Mes rate: Bottle at Chris_O’s HogTownHarry minifest. Big thanks to Chris for cracking this open. Brazillian chapagne beer. Not something you see every day huh? Lovely colour with mini champers like fizz flowing relentlessly to the top of the glass. Obvious champagne yeast, thick but really nice sweetness. Alcohol is so delicate and refined. Very impressive. Lovely lick of malt in the finish. Jolly good stuff.

Perfectly, excitedly, well carbonated. The beer pours with a cresting, yet not overflowing, easily seven-finger thick, light tan colored head that is frothy with a medium froth size. The beer has tons of streams of mad bubbles streaming up from the bottom of my tulip glass and is a brilliantly clear, reddish tinged, full copper color. As the head slowly recedes it produces a variegated, crag mired surface and nice lacing patterns on the sides of my glass. The aroma is fairly fruity with notes of caramelized apples, raisins, sweet plums and fresh figs. Purely malt driven notes contribute to a lesser degree, but I definitely smell notes of fresh crushed soda crackers, bread crust and a solid biscuit-like maltiness. Touches of spiciness also add to the aromatic components; I notice flavors of white pepper, a touch of young ginger notes, some clove-like phenolics and notes of allspice. Overall the aroma is quite sweet and fruity smelling; sweet like fresh, ripe fruit and not like a dessert though.

Quite sweet tasting, even more so than I was expecting from the aroma. This definitely accentuates the fruit notes; notes of caramelized apples, raisins and prunes are most noticeable. The carbonation is fairly substantial feeling, but the sweetness and medium full body really softens its effect. Said another way, the substantial carbonation helps to keep this beer quite a bit lighter than it otherwise would be. While this is sweet, it really leans more to the heft that a sweeter wine would have, it is not nearly as thick as a typical all malt beer of this strength would be. The beer finishes with a spicy, almost astringent note, a touch of warming alcohol and a very light bitterness.

As the beer warms up from its initial 50°F (10°C) it picks up some subtle touches of woodiness or even plasticized (though not in a bad way) leather character in the finish. The malt character picks up a bit and the sweetness gets a bit more tempered as the beer warms too. A lot of this tempering manifests itself in the form of a salty, peat-like smokiness that is just barely perceptible at times, but definitely present (though I am not implying that any peat malt was used, though you never know). This could definitely be a bit drier and a bit spicier / funky; this would evoke the champagne-like character quite a bit more. Still it is quite tasty and certainly a beer worth trying. While this does have a touch of warming alcohol character, it manages to hide the 11.5% alcohol quite well. This is definitely best enjoyed on the warmer side of things, the suggested serving temperatures would definitely have ruined this beer for me. In the end this is quite enjoyable, but it really could be so much more complex and interesting.

Purchased via mail order: <a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/Places/ShowPlace.asp? Solutions

Bottle (750ml). Shared with chris_o, mes_and_sim, harrisoni, reakt and duff - via chris_o. Good stuff. Very, VERY bubbly - champers indeed - clear amber-gold with a huge fluffy white head. Incredibly dry aroma, my nostril hairs curled, light candy malt, literally waves of sharp yeast, quite floral, tart and only moderately boozy compared to what you’d expect from 11.5%. Taste impressions - bubbly!; wine-like tartness, crispness and alcohol presence; a nice yield of light fruity malt in the finish. This is lively, crisp, lightly acidic, and finishes fairly quickly. Excellent - as Chris and Ian said, the best beer most of us have had from Brazil.