HeBrew Messiah Bold on Rye

Mini growler from Half-Time. Pours a clear deep dark brown to black with a light tan brown head on the thin side of medium which deflates quickly. Whiskey and smores on the nose. Curious really. The barrel really comes through here, big whiskey tones and light wood over roasted malt, and the booze is pretty well concealed, just the faintest touch of isopropyl. Strangely though, the nose must be connected through some sort of space anomaly to a different beer, because this tastes nothing like what it smells like. Starts off sour, and not in a good geueze sort of way, but rather a spoiled fruit sort of way. Rancid cherries and tangy flavors mingle unpleasantly before finishing with a little bit of papery cardboard and metal. This started off so remarkably promising… I think I’ll sit around and sniff it some more before the rest of it goes into the sink. Knew it was too good to be true for a Schmaltz brew.

What was this. Sour and tingly in the tongue. Sweet and funky with weird odd sourness. Not very good.

Reviewing Barrel Aged Bold Messiah. Pours a jet black with white head. Lots of carbonation. Aroma is of all sour, almost like a combination of white wine and strong blue cheese. First sip is intensely sour with notes of fermented grapes overwhelming the palate. There are muted hints of caraway.

Name: Messiah Bold on Rye
Date: October 17, 2008
Mode: Draft
Source: Taco Mac, Decatur
Appearance: opaque dark brown, fine beige head, sheets of lace
Aroma: tart fruity aroma backed by dark caramel sweetness, light oak
Flavor: sweet chocolate flavor, tart dark cherry, nice oak, touch of bourbon and vanilla sweetness, light bitterness from the oak combines with the fruity tartness to balance the vanilla sweetened chocolate
Aroma: 7/10; Appearance: 7/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 15/20
Rating: 3.6/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **4

Tap @ Mr. Dunderbaks. Pours a clear deep brown amber with a one finger light tan head that leaves good lacing. Aroma of sweet malt, dark fruit, vanilla, and rye whiskey. Taste is full on whiskey with hints of dark fruit and vanilla. Medium thin mouthfeel with a mild amount of bitterness. Very good.

12oz hand bottle from Cask Redlight Redlight (9/19/08) Courtesy of Hopscotch and me picking it up CU/WVU throwdown. Pours a clear dark ruby body iwth no head. Aroma of caramel, earth, wood, and rye with a hint of alcohol. Taste of malt, caramel, and wine. This medium bodied brew has a smooth finish and well balanced. Tasty.

Terrapin & Friends beer dinner at Trappeze. Sampled next to regular Messiah Bold. The wood really adds alot to this beer. Poured brownish amber with a beige head. Aroma of oak, malt, vanilla. Taste is malty, vanilla, oak, with a little fruit. Very nice. Mouth is smooth and lightly carbonated. Easy drinking. Overall, a solid brew.

Draught. Pours a mostly clear amber with a large off-white head that left lots of sticky lace. Very pleasant aroma of oak, sweet malt, vanilla, and a few notes of rye whiskey. The flavor is definitely more about the rye than anything else. There’s some sweet malt up front, but from there on its mostly rye whiskey along with some mild oakiness. I don’t know what the abv is on this beer, but the rye makes it feel much higher than it is. An interesting beer, although it is a bit too heavily influenced by the rye; not so much the oak, but the whiskey itself.