Valley Brew Effinguud

Brewed by Valley Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale
Stockton, California USA

Sampled from bottle @ Throwdown 3 courtesy boboski. Dark copper color with not much head. Alcohol, spice, oak, pepper, and dark fruit on the nose. All melds together rather nicely. The alcohol is apparent on the taste but integrates well with the very dark and sweet character of the brew. A lot of dark fruit and caramel notes on the taste. The finish is oaky, sweet, and alcoholic. Nice.

Bottle courtesy of aspidites sampled on 9/15/07: Pours a transparent copper amber with a thin ring of off-white bubbles. Aroma of sweet earthy dark wheat and caramel with some fruity vinous notes. Body starts with nice light caramel malty sweetness, some dry oaky complexity and vinous light tartness. Nicely complex and fairly well balanced.

Hazy red-brown. Strong aroma of port, alcohol, oak. Flavor is surprisingly sour (reminiscent of a Flemish ale), woody. Full bodied coupled with tartness makes it an intense brew.

Bottle from Aspidites. Opened with no sound whatsoever. Uh oh. Poured without a trace of head. God damnit. First whiff is bretty, sour... infected? Wouldn’t be surprised. Fuck this.

Take a sip. Still quite good. Moral dilemma arises. Is it fair to rate even if it’s not in good condition, but if it’s still yummy?

Check ratings. First rating goldtwins: "thin off-white head." Yep, just as I thought. This shit is totally dead. Ugh! Re-enter on want list. How long did I wait for this beer!

Pissed off post in forums. Look at page again. See that this "beer is intentionally not carbonated." What! Don’t forget "there are trace hints of Brett and Lacto from the Port wine barrel." Well I’ll be damned! Good to know my nose still works!

Read ClarkVV’s rating. Clark invokes Hip-Hop. Andy will too.

Pours dark brown with no head. Hopefully you’ve figured that out by now. Lightly funky, wheaty, peanut and old grape aroma. A touch of sour. Good bacterial notes -- how wrong does that sound? Nature definitely took it’s toll on this one, though.

A lot like Captain Lawrence SFTO Wine Barrel. The base beer is strong, but has been taken over and dominated by a pushy, lovely barrel. With all it’s STDs and everything.

The taste is, simply put, a knockout, with incredibly deep, rich malts, florals, and triumphant barrel notes that knock the beer into submission. Smooth and buttery, with a brilliant and thick mouthfeel often reserved for dessert liquors and other digestives. Thick and brilliant. Slight lactic funkiness is still there but takes a backseat to the ample flavors of wood and grain.

As when Nas ironically drops "Don’t go against the grain, simple and plain," this beer is everything but, and a lovely example of what brewers could do if they pushed themselves and tried to push the envelope. Oh, and he says "grain," which is obviously an allusion to this beer. Thanks, Mike!

Poured a lightly hazed deep amber color with some ruby highlights and a thin off-white head. The aroma was fruity, woody, and leathery with some cherry, vanilla and a light tartness. The flavor is less complex with some fruitiness. Tanic finish. Warming with a light carbonation.

RBSG 07 Minneapolis Grand Tasting: Murky brown, light head, no lacing. Nose of tart yeast and fresh hops, some caramelly malt notes. The flavor is rich and caramelly, nice and malty. Finishes balanced. Good.

Thanks to CaptainCougar for bringing this one out. Deep dark brown beer, brown sugar and loads of sweet oaky character. Soft earthy sourness on the nose as well. Light cherry vineous quality. Tannic finish and the body is a bit thin (which I’ve found with many barrel aged beers). Lingering alcohol and oaky vineous character. Nice brew.

Thanks to CaptainCougar for sharing this at JoeMcphee’s place - hazy, headless, still brownish amber pour - brown sugar and oak in the aroma, with a booziness that is not clearly identifiable as port - a bit tart up front, with some earthy, tannic notes - the stereotypical weizenbock character is kind of washed out by the port, which, much like in the aroma, is more of a general booziness than a strongly defined port flavor - the tannic character is the only give-away - an earthy, subtle (lacto?) sourness keeps it interesting.