Valley Brew Effinguud

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

Draft at the Bistro Barrel Aged Beer Fest 11/11/06 Tied for my best at the fest! Nose of wood, vanilla, and some caramel malt; slightly hazy brown with a few bubbles; flavor of vanilla, caramel, oak and fruitiness.

On tap at Bistro’s 1st Barrel-Aged Beer Festival. The description on the sheet is different from the one posted on here. The description is: "Alcohol started at 11.3% and is now recording 14.7%. Barrel is from Heaven Hill Brandy Co and is an uncut barrel. It was aged 1 month". Several 3 ounce samples, first beer and first rating of the fest. Slightly sour, vinous, lightly funked aroma. Sweet, roasted, woody aromas are present in the nose, too. Moderately hazy dark amber color with a small yellow-orangeish head with nice lacing. Vanilla, oaky flavors present to start with some hazelnut notes present as well. Chocolate roasty malts show up in the middle. Finishes a little fruity and vinous. Nice, smooth drinking beer. Ethanol is non-existant. Very good and very drinkable. Perhaps my favorite beer of the festival.

Bomber from KrausenJockey drunk on 5/28/07
Wow, I’d been lookin forward to this one and have also been lookin forward to this rating. How to rate it??? It’s like no beer I’ve ever had. First of all HUGE PROPS to Steve for having the ingenuity to make something like this. Is it wine? Is it beer? It’s definitely a little of both worlds.
Not surprisingly the lack of carbonation is going to shock some less experienced palates and I could see some 1.9s and 2.5s being given to this (just pulled those numbers out of nowhere) ;)
Yep, it’s not got the mouthfeel of beer, and wow is it a lot like some red wines I’ve had, the yeast tartness even mimicking some of the grape character. But it’s definitely not lacking in beer flavor, with plenty of breadiness, vanilla, light chocolate and even some smooth, chewy wheat.
Not a "weizenbock" in the traditional German sense of the style, but if you expected that or held this beer to that standard when rating it, then in the words of a better rapper than me, "ya have no clue what me and my homie snoop dogg came to do"....just replace snoop dogg with Valley Brewing. This isnt their attempt at the GABF winning Weizenbock, but rather a very creative beer/wine hybrid in the general mold.
I’ve got little patience for beers that are overshadowed by some other, non-beer character, see my ratings on lots of over-hopped, over-fruited and over-spiced beers....but this stuff holds true to beer, you just have to get past the carbonation. Despite the oily, somewhat difficult mouthfeel for a beer, the attenuation is wonderful and, I think, very much compensates for the lack of carbonation.
Lastly (I’ll try to cut this rant off now), if you like wild yeast and barrel aging done right, then what could your complaints be here? Brett and lacto acids only extend to the point of tartness, perhaps borderline sourness, but nothing overdone. Barrel character is layered upon the chocolate, raisin and plum notes. Taste that little tannic bite? Wow, it’s in the realm of barrel-aging with wine (which, for the most part, is consistently MUCH better balanced and integrated than what most brewers are doing with barrel-aged beer).
Yes, I will admit a little bit too much breadiness and acidity does build up, as the beer progresses, but it’s simply jaw-dropping to see a beer fashioned this well with, more-or-less, no precedent.
I seriously can’t even wait for the Decadence GC. Keep this stuff comin Steve!!!

This has a good dark color. It smells of a port wine with hints of oak and slight berry flavors A great rich tasting beer , reminiscent of a fine Port wine.

Sampled a version that was different from the Barrel fest. Served at room temp and uncarbonated. Major aromas of oak, port and chocolate. Very rich flavors of port wine, raosted malts and oak as well as berries. Very smooth, with the alcohol being well hidden.

Rating #600. 22oz bottle, courtesy of aspidites. Thanks, Mike! Pours a murky, dark ruby-brown color; headless. Dense, generous aroma: tart, ripe cherries and brown sugar, with some chewy esters; strange, intriguing aroma; some pleasant buttery notes. Very light carbonation. Medium-to-full, creamy mouthfeel: dense, vinous character, with cherries and dried red fruits; beautifully integrated with a chewy weizen bock character, showing esters and cloves; a gorgeous, confusing hybrid: intensely drinkable and without any astringency; minimal alcohol presence. Lengthy, brown sugar and cherry finish.

Big and rich port nose that is much bigger than the flavor profile would have you believe. Mild black cherries and vanilla with delicate dark fruit and nuts with a touch of liquorice. Effinguud shit.

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!