Ithaca Excelsior! Brute

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

750 ml bottle courtesy of LilBeerDoctor. Thanks, Margaret! Pours a lively carbonated golden straw, a bubbly big carbonation driven head dies to a small film, very champagney. Aromas are fruity and estery: apple, pear, banana mix with a light dryness, decent sourness, and considerably lighter funk. A golden ale overall, fruity with sourness and funk as a secondary. A touch of pineapple, straw and mellow sweet graininess. Initial is fruity, sweet apple and estery pear and banana, a lighter sourness, wild yeasts and lighter bretty funk. Pineapple, vanilla, light dry oak and well carbonated but light on the palate, lactic sourness and tart fruit is secondary still, grows a bit. Lemony citrus and rind, surprisngly refreshing and spritzy. A welcome beer, delicate, yet not overly complex or developed, lighter bodied overall. Solid beer overall, a bit reminiscent of a favorite of mine, Temptation, without the bite. Serves its purpose, tasty.

Very drinkable sour with a beautiful liquid gold body and bright white head. Lemon zest, grapefruit pith, brett, citrus zip, and barnyard. Acidic and tart but not jaw locking. Yum.

2009 Bottle batch E!018 - Thanks corey70!! - Pours a hazy pal yellow with a large neon white head...aroma is incredibly inviting, lemon, dust, earth, some grain peeking thru...as it mellows, some tropical fruit appears as well...flavour is an interesting contradiction, immediate citrus sour and pithy bitterness that exists only on the edge of the palate and quickly vanishes...slightly vinous, highly acidic, oaky phenolic and slight carbonation...that was tasty, get the tums...

Thanks to Dr. Bill for having this at his tasting. Nice tangy flavor, the carbonation is nice on the tongue. Tasty.

Thanks Ken (kmweaver) for sharing! 750mL, batch E!010. Hazy bright yellow gold with a 1 finger effervescent head, fair retention. Lemon and brett up front with some wheat and grapefruit. Flavor adds some lacto sourness (peaks at a 5-6). Wheaty finish, minimal bitterness. Highly carbonated with a light body. Very tasty!

Pours gold with a white head. Smells funky, acidic, sour. Tastes dry and funky with some peppery hints and funky citrus.

Aroma is pretty mild, sourness and some spicy floral notes-hay barnyard. Taste is sour and bretty with some hoppy, funkiness. Sour, bretty, citrusy. Very nice. Finish is very quenching, somewhat crisp. Good.

Bottle acquired from the Brew house. Batch 2 if I’m not mistaken. Poured into over sized wine glass for lack of snifter. Synthetic yellow plastic cork with little to no pop. Very hazy tangerine murky yellow body with a big fizzy white head thats not too dense and doesn’t leave much in the way of lace. The aroma is very fresh and smooth - citrus, spices, brett, and white wine with oak. Flavor is very nice and well done as well. Nice funk to it, but not overbearing with a god medium dry brett finish. This would be a great training-wheel sour (but that doesn’t detract from its quality). Smooth medium body with a nice tingly effervescence. Overall: worth the hype. Very nice and refreshing.