Ithaca Excelsior! Brute

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

Thanks to Baker. Happy new years! This is an absolutely ridiculous brew. It reminds me so much of the rare biere de champagnes of Belgium. Cloudy orange body with a bubbly white head. Lemon, orange, apple, ginger, and spice in the nose. Amazingly sour, funky, dry taste. Loads of fruitiness, and the longest, driest finish a man could ask for. Dangerously drinkable. This is one of those brews that could turn a wine drinker on to the world of craft beer. This is a monster of a beer that could be a force to be reckoned with. These beers are what is next in American brewing, and not just the craft world. A step above.

Bottle: Poured a gold color with a nice head. The aroma was funky citrus barnyard. The flavor was orange, lemon, funky yeast, sour and spice. This is a very drinkable sour, one my wife actually enjoyed as well. Wish I had more of this one!

750ml bottle. I actually tried at BCTC and had to buy a case of this gem. Poured hazy/ murky gold in color with a medium sized fizzy white head that quickly diminished. Aroma of brett funk with lots of citrus fruit. Tastes of grapefruit and lemon citrus, with a brett funkiness. A little acidic, but champagne yeast leaves a wonderful mouth feel and nice dry finish. Many characteristics of a very dry white wine. Outstanding.

Hazy yellow. Funky aroma. Delicious sour flavor, juicy, fruity. Superb. It’s so encouraging to see breweries all over the place experimenting with these kinds of beers, with some like Ithaca succeeding fantastically.

Split with Maddog. I always have a soft spot in my heart for sours. And it all started with Rodenbach Grand Cru. Exquisite aromas of tartness and mustiness, flavors that are amazingly full of tartness, sourness, and musty funkiness rule the day with this surpising beer. This is very pale and hazy, an extremely refreshing sour, not as malty as many. More along the lines of RR Sanctification than a Rodenbach. Very dry along with the tartness, not just sour. This one stands up to many Belgian and domestic sours that I have enjoyed in recent years. A true gem from a brewery that I have never enjoyed before.

bctc. Beer of the fest for me. Pours a nice pale light golden with a fizzy pure white head- good high champagne like carbonation- some haze and a few floaties- looked like castleton. Aroma is very citrusy, tons of grape skin, and grape pulp-like with tons of acidity and funk in there- kinda like castleton. White wine like flavors- but bigger and bolder- tons of grapefruit citrus like acidity, intense lactic acid with a very sharp acidity in the end that wasn’t helping my heartburn, but it didn’t stop me from drinking multiple large glasses of the stuff throughout the fest. Reminded me a lot of castleton which is a good thing, since it was similar in a very good way. Awesome sour ale- I have to get this in bottles!!

Bottle… GSRARO Throwdown… This beer rocks!… Cloudy, pear-colored ale with a large, frothy, white head. Fantastic retention. Tart, funky aroma. Light to medium-bodied and quite dry with champagne-like carbonation. The flavor is both acidic and acetic. Mid-length, raspy, arid finish. Kudos to Beerlando for providing this wonderful bottle of beer!

Bottle: Poured a cloudy dirty beige color ale with a quite large bubbly head with average retention and some lacing. Aroma of sour notes with distinctive notes of oak with light green apple notes. Taste is also a very well balance notes between some oak with some sour notes and some light barnyard notes with a distinctive Brett dry finish. I must admit that this is one of the best American sour I have tasted to date and very close to some of the Belgian lambic. Body is quite full with limited filtration and good carbonation with no apparent alcohol. Very well done and something I would buy again even considering the hefty price tag.