Piece Cheroin

Only the merest hint of sour cherries...mostly overwhelmed by the massive bourbon barrel rush...somewhat medicinal in flavor...I like the over-the-top experimental attitude of the brewer.

Sampled at the 3rd Annual Festival of Wood & Barrel-aged Beers held at Goose Island (Wrigleyville branch), Chicago, IL. Served from tap. Strong Belgium ale aged in Woodford Reserve barrel. Hazy, dark brown ale having a diminishing medium off-white head with spare lacing. Intense bourbon whiskey and sour cherry aromas. Medium bodied that starts with light sweet malt and intense bourbon and sour cherry flavors. Mouth puckering sourness. Notable sharp bitterness as well. Finishes with light dryness and lingering bitterness. Overly pronounced bourbon flavor interfered with beer flavor so rather unbalanced– needed more barrel aging to mellow out the bourbon.

This poured an ugly brown color with a creamy tan head. The entire drink was dominated by the bourbon, hiding any Belgian characteristics. Couldn’t really taste much of the cherries, either. Not bad, but then, I like bourbon.

<font size=-4><a href=http://www.ratebeer.com/events-detail.asp?eventID95>The Third Annual Festival of Barrel-Aged Beers, Chicago, IL 11/12/2005<font size=-1>

FOBAB. Best of show IMHO. A fantastic and complex beer that is a wonderful mix of tart and sweet. The barrel effect is minimal except to impart a wonderful cherry, vanilla and coconut overtone. Muddy reddish brown appearence and mnimal head that is retained throughout the draft. Great twist to a fine style.

Growler, (Courtesy of the Goose Island Beer Academy, 31 AUG 2005): muddy appearance, that looks more like the Mississippi River than a cherry infused Belgian Strong Ale…Powerful aroma with vanilla cake, dusty oak, chocolate and huge amounts of Bourbon. Though the flavours are dominated by the whiskey remnants picked up from the barrel, and I wouldn’t necessarily want to drink a pint of this, hints of the wood turn into a subtle sweetness as the alcohol is warmed. Cool to see from the guys at Piece – hope they continue to experiment.

At Goose Island Beer Academy, 31 August 2005. According to Wil, Chim-Aint is the base beer for this concoction. The name, if you haven’t figured it out, comes as cherry-flavored heroin. Dirty brown body with a thin, off-white head. Aroma of Bourbon, vanilla, caramel, cherries, chocolate, coconut, meat malts and alcohol. Thick, full, almost chalky, body. Dominated by the strong bourbon characteristics-vanilla, coconut, whiskey, wood and sweetness. Most of the cool Belgian-style esters are gone, and replaced by strong, powerful Bourbon. I heard one person describe this as Bourbon-flavored cough syrup. And while that may be a bit harsh, it is medicinal, strong, biting, sweet (despite the strong cherry elements) and alcoholic. Not something I really want to drink all that much, yet one of the more interesting offerings from Piece.