Pickle Beer In Review

In the busy past months the fated pickle beer never got bottled. It has been sitting in the fermentation chamber until tonight. The review of pickle beer:

Appearance: A fairly clear, tan straw color.

Smell: It smells great! Bready with a funky sour overtone. Very impressed with the smell for an experimental batch like this. 

Taste: Unfortunately WAY too salty. 3 teaspoons of salt was just too much and overpowers anything else in the beer. Bad miscalculation for such a small batch when it smelled so good. None of the dill comes through, nor the pepper. Hard to identify anything else behind the salt, so its hard to judge an amount or complexity to the sour portion of the beer. 

Mouthfeel: It dries your mouth out from all the salt but it has a slightly slick feeling to it. 

Overall: An utter failure and I will dump the rest of it. Honestly I think the kombucha culture starter for a day before adding in vermont ale yeast to finish fermentation has a lot of potential for a quick light sour beer. If I were to redo the beer, I'd probably cut the salt back to maybe half a teaspoon and add a whole package or more of dill. 

Mad Fox Brewing review: Oaked Diabolik Ale

We went to Mad Fox for dinner this week and saw they were selling 22oz. bomber bottles of their first sour beer. Oaked Diabolik Ale is a 9% belgian sour saison, brewed with 100% pilsner and spalt hops, aged in oak barrels. 

 

Evan's Review:

Appearance- Nice clear golden color, head dissipated fast with a few lingering bubbles around the rim. 5/5

Smell- Bit of apple cider but slightly oxidized and a little sour. 3/5

Taste- Dry with a light fruity apple hint upfront. Not overly sour but tangy and more sour as it warms up. It finishes with a peppery and oaky finish. At room temperature the pilsner really comes through. 3.75/5

Mouthfeel- Not a lot of body for a 9% beer, but well carbonated. 4/5

Overall- Very accessible for a sour, fruity overtones and a light acidic edge. 3/5

 

Lisa's Review:

Appearance - Pale golden. Very clear for a sour. The head dissipated quickly.  5/5

Smell - I can definitely smell the sourness. Not a vinegary smell like some sours, but a nice, palatable funk. 3.5/5

Taste - This is not a sour that will make you pucker. It is a very drinkable sour. I taste a good wild, tangy sourness with hints of oak, pepper, and Belgian spice character presumably from the original yeast. 4/5

Mouthfeel - A pleasant, light carbonation adds to the drinkability. It's subtly astringent, but not unpleasantly so. 4/5

Overall - This is a drinkable sour with oak flavors and Belgian character. I would definitely drink it again. Great first sour release, Mad Fox! 4/5