Pisgah Baptista

Brewed by Pisgah Brewing Company
Style: Belgian Strong Ale
Black Mountain, North Carolina USA

From the Bottle at the Marriott Hotel, Denver 25/09/2009 Big fruit aroma. Golden amber coloured and strong in alcohol with a crisp and slightly dry malt finish.

25.4 oz bottle, Winter 2007. Foggy orange brown with some whitish foam. Nose is toffee, white grapes, golden raisin and alcohol. Medium body with buzzy carb. Sticky and slightly cloying. Taste is candi, scotch and pastry dough. Finishes with apricot and peach.

Another very solid offering from Pisgah. Winter 2007 bottling. And Pisgah corks are a pain, by the way. Light on the tongue with little to suggest 11.5%. Smells of spicy tropical fruits. Banana. The taste is rather fruity (again, the light, tropical fruits), with a fair bit of spice (think white pepper and whatnot) and some alcohol warmth. Candi sugar. Peaches. Nicely carbonated. Very drinkable with a lightness on the tongue that many American examples of the style fail to exhibit. I would definitely drink this again; recommended.

A 750ml bottle from Winter 2007 with a Best Before date of 12/2019. Appearance: Pours an orange-yellow body with a goodly-sized, white head. Smell: A fragrant sweet and spicy aroma with vivid notes of candi sugar dosed fruits, aged spices, and good, wholesome booze -- particularly, a notable whiff of white wine. Taste: Sugary sweet, lightly honeyish taste of pale malts and a heavy-handed inclusion of toothsome Belgian candi sugar. Almost instantaneously fruity, with rich, succulent tastes of apricot, peach, banana, strawberry, orange peel, and even pear. Why, it’s a veritable buffet of fruit flavors! Splash of white wine. Toss in a few chunks of bubblegum. Earthy hops with some slight bitterness. Sprinkling of dusty spices, dried herbs, and, maybe, a quarter teaspoon of white pepper. Finishes rather sweet and rapturously warming with some lingering ripe fruit and spice hints. Mouthfeel: Medium-full body. Medium-plus, somewhat lively carbonation. Drinkability: Ole Janny Bap would be pleased there’s ample carbonation to lighten up the proceedings, steer clear of a cloying nature, and even aid drinkability. Sure, at nearly 12% ABV, the alcohol presence is, well, present, but not heinously overbearing, thankfully. Another fine release from Pisgah -- now when the hell am I going to get to try that Valdez?

Tap at the brewery. Pours a nice deep hazy golden with a frothy head. Aroma is yeasty, Belgian spices, phenolic, good banana esters, and nice bready malts with some earthy leathery hints. Fruity as well in the flavor light on the apple- some peach, and pear with some banana , vanilla, and phenolic spicy and warming cloves with some bubblegum- bready and sweet all the way through- the end is still a bit sweet and dirty with yeast, but overall it was pretty good.

I shared this one with a few friends thanks to Santa Deuane. Pored into a Portsmouth tulip glass not to much of a white head appeared and it quickly fell away to a sparse lace. The body of the brew was a clear yellow in color. Aromas were very reminiscent of a Triple I got some apricot fruitiness with some spice but not what I expected for a Christmas spice at all it was hard to put my finger on it. This brew is big but you get no alcohol in the nose at all Again it reminded me of a spiced triple in flavors as well. No warmth from the alcohol came thru but it was bottled in 07 so it may have something to do with it. Sweet and fruity not to much bitter and a medium feel to the mouth with no carbonation which made it a little syrupy. An enjoyable Belgian clone not what I expected from a noel but good none the less in my book. At almost 12% not tasting the alcohol made it very drinkable

750ml from SellTibet on Beerinator - thanks, Mike! Lovely pour, a kind of honey-gold mead color with a fairly frothy head. The nose is fruity and strong, with some moderate spice and a fragrant yeast quality. Even though this bottle is from January 2008, it’s still fairly hot, but the warming is quite pleasant. Taste is sweet and fruity, with some hops and spicy yeast in there for balance. Mildly bitter finish doesn’t quite seem to fit, but overall a good one from the folks in western NC.

25 oz bottle, via BA Deuane. Pours a dark yellow gold body with a small off white head that faded fairly quickly. The nose is heavy malt, with lots of honey and spices, moderate alcohol, moderate yeastiness, and fruitiness. The flavor is much the same, lots of fruitiness and honey up front with a good bit of sweetness and belgian yeast character. Very noticeable alcohol in the flavor but I wouldn’t say that it’s hot really. A good bit of fizzy lively carbonation helps cut the fairly heavy body well. Overall, decent enough, but not one that I seek out with any regularity.