Red Brick Autumnfest

2005 GCBC. I really didn’t know what style I was drinking without reading about it. Murky brown color and a pretty large beige head. Sour funky aroma. Flavor was malty and tart. Fizzy mouthfeel.

I was really looking forward to this beer after some recent successes from ABC, but something went wrong with this beer. There’s a bit of the banana nose in here and a nice maltiness there, but there’s also a bit of the Oud Bruin funky yeast fruit there that doesn’t belong in a dunkel. The tartness in the flavor that is expected after the aroma is slight and a bit metallic, but not offensive. The flavor is much drier than expected and the body isn’t as creamy as expected. Here’s the deal with this beer. If they’d called it an Oud Bruin, I would have applauded their creativity and only knocked it a little for not being as "out there" as an Oud Bruin should be. But calling it a Dunkelweizen, I don’t expect the sourness here and it loses a few points. Not a bad beer, just not what it was supposed to be. Almost black body is topped by a gorgeous, meringue-like head.

Sampled at GCBC 2005. Pours near black with deep reddish hues, and a fully receding tan head. Aroma is more caramel/crystal malt than hefe yeast, and it makes me wonder what malts they used to make this weizen almost black. After warming the beer for about 5 minutes, I could smell just a little bit of clove on the nose. Taste is slightly astringent, with vague toffee maltiness, and a slightly estery finish. Almost feels slightly vinous, a little bit sticky. Medium bodied with medium/high carbonation. ABC has yet to impress me.

Opaque brown with red hi-lites. Nicely (and surprisingly) sour aroma. Flavor is cherry and a touch of a wheat flavor on a toasty, bready malt base. Sampled at Asheville Brewergrass Festival, 2005.