In order to do this review with a fresh perspective, I've forgotten everything I've ever known about this beer. Except that it has something to do with a pre-prohibition recipe and a sour mash technique. There's nothing else about the beer on the label except for the brewer's name, and his signature. Perhaps there's more on the six-pack holder…I'm going to look for it now…all of the technical information is there but no background stories…5.6% ABV, 55 IBUs…hops: Cluster, Northern Brewer…malt/grain: Victory/Crystal Medium, pale malt, rye malt, disteller's malt (ooo!), maize (that's corn to you and I), white wheat.I'll skip the rest and open 'er up:
Lovely chestnut brown, full blooming off-white head, leaving loads of lace.
Complex grain bill evident in aromatics. Have to say it: I am getting some whiskey-ish notes, for certain. A little sweet, a bit sour and musty, but very likable. Intriguing to say the least.
Taste: Hop bitterness starts us off on the palate. Tasty stuff. Spicy rye malt hits next. Twice as nice. Plenty of character in this one. Continues long through the drink, with a lush, malty finish. Alcohol and hops are mellow enough to ease the drinking, leaving this a vastly pleasurable brew that tastes better with each new swallow.
Ladies and gentlemen, I might be turning into one of those fussy fuddy-duddies decrying the way things are today, and those kids, blah, blah, blah…But, really, does everything have to be 10% alcohol? There are a lot of beers out there that I could enjoy more often if there were just 8% instead of 10%, or 6 % instead of 8.
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