Ithaca Excelsior! Brute

Brewed by Ithaca Beer Company
Style: Sour Ale
Ithaca, New York USA

Bouteille de 750ml, avec bouchon de liège, partagée lors d’une dégustation Ratebeer Montréal chez Rastacouere. Arôme: Odeur de pommes vertes et de foin. Apparence: La couleur est blonde voilée. Présence d’un moyen col mousseux et d’une large dentelle sur le verre. Saveur: Goût d’agrumes et de pomme sûrette. Durée moyenne de l’arrière goût. Palette: Le corps est moyen avec une texture huileuse. Moyenne effervescence en bouche. Arrière goût légèrement sûrette. (Rating #2312)

750ml botle in Duvel glass. Hazy golden with lastng flat white head and a little lace. Sweet candy sugar marshmallow with clean horse blanket funk aroma. Mildly sweet lemon meringue and melon with strong funky sweaty horseballs flavor. Everythign is very clean for such an unclean beer. Very excellent and refreshing and drinkable yet assertively funky. Effervescent carbonation blends everything beautifully.

Pours gold into a snifter. Bright white micro head with excellent retention leaves spotted sheets as it recedes to coat surface. Sour apricot aromas. Dry with upfront puckering aspirin and a lasting, oak finish.

First of all, great presentation, right down to the black newcork in the bottle (although it was damn hard to get out!) - effervescent, cloudy golden pour - soapy, lasting lace - a lot of tart apple, funky earthiness and a hint of horseblanket in the nose, giving an impression similar to some of the better dry ciders I’ve had - a bit of lacto, light phenols, tangy wheat, and hints of tropical fruit sweetness in the nose as well - light, tart and wheaty up front, reminding me a bit of a berliner weisse with a bit more body - lemon and tropical fruits through the middle, and the wild character comes to the fore, as well as moderate oaky tannins - gets quite dry, and even a bit salty in the finish - lingering sour apple and champagne grape character - I didn’t think Ithaca had a beer like this in them - sure there are better and more complex sours out there, but there have been lots of mediocre and crappy ones in the recent glut of sour ales, and this ain’t one of those.

My Bottom Line:
Lactobacillus, green apple skins and citrus fruit surf this Sour Ale’s expansive effervescence, creating a very refreshing and tart quencher.

Further Personal Perceptions:
-A veil of foam covers the cloudy, Witbier-like beige.
-I don’t get that many of the advertised brett notes in here, although there is plenty of lacto.
-The tartness welcomes dryness in the end.
-The fruitiness is prevalent and delves into tropical territories at times.

Bottle.

I brought this to share at the Smoke from the Oak release (remarkably, someone else brought one later, so we got to put away two of these remarkable gems). Pours a hazy golden yellow with a fluffy white top. Slight funk, and clean lemon, citrus, and honey notes, and light champagne yeast. Medium to thick body with a remarkably creamy texture. Ends with a lovely light tart sourness. This was my clear favorite of the day (seemed to go over well with just about everyone else too), and I’m pretty sure I could drink this daily were it not for the somewhat steep price tag.

The aroma is atrt, fruity, lemony, and somewhat like a lambic in funkyness. The color was a lemonade color, hazy, thin head. The flavor is sour, but has a lemon/citrus qulaity to it, and a atrt qulaity to it. The brett seems to ontribute the underlying funky quality of this beer. The finish is dry, tart. Very nicely done. I am not big on this style in general, but this beer definitely rates.

From a 750mL Bottle. Generously shared by CharlesDarwin. Mostly hazy, pale nectarine flesh colored pour with a tall head of fizzy brilliant white. Perfumey, fruity noise with a moderate tartness. Aromas of lemon, pineapple, and a deep lambic-like funk. Soft orange scented alcohol notes warm gently. Light bodied, heavily carbonated mouthfeel with a moderate acidity and exceptionally dry finish. The flavors are satisfying, but less intense than the aroma and fade a little quickly in the finish, accentuated by the exceptional dryness. A little more sourness in the finish would be nice. The flavors up front are bright and fruity, complimented by an initial burst of acidity. Notes of peach and under-ripe red apple. Mid-palate, the beer opens up with some of the brett-derived vinous notes, delivering some refreshing pinot grigio flavors. Delightfully drinkable. Thanks, Tom!