Pisgah Cosmos - Pisgah Brewing Co.

corey0212

Massachusetts

4.55/5  rDev +13.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Got this in a trade with mikesgroove!

First off, I could stare at the label on this bottle all damn day...

Pours a dark cola-brown, with a big fizzy mocha colored head, fades somewhat slowly into a 1/4" layer of foam on top of the beer, some nice patches of lace. Lots of cocoa on the nose, some fig, some chocolate covered cherries. Taste follows right along, the cherry taste has a tart/sour quality to it, and I get some faint espresso flavors as well. Pretty actively carbonated, on the heavy side of medium-bodied. This is a fantastic beer, well worth trying to track one of these down.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2008 01:00:43 | More by corey0212

Falcone

North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +6%

03-27-2013 22:42:10 | More by Falcone

Sparky44

Illinois

4/5  rDev -0.2%

03-25-2013 00:13:34 | More by Sparky44

BlackBelt5112203

South Carolina

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%

02-28-2013 05:37:24 | More by BlackBelt5112203

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +6%

02-02-2013 01:03:09 | More by DaveHack

t0rin0

California

3/5  rDev -25.2%

12-08-2012 22:08:22 | More by t0rin0

cosmicevan

New York

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

huge thanks to AleWatcher for knocking off this want. enjoyed from my La Trappe chalice.

vintage February 2008

a - decaged and popped the cork...well, perhaps i shouldn't say popped the cork as it snapped in half and then i destroyed it while trying to pry it out with a cork screw. once that travesty finished (i take full blame on that one) the brew poured a deep plum with a nice creamy bubbly head that didn't hang out long but never seemed to fully go away. unfortunately had to strain the beer into a different chalice since i noticed little bits of cork in the beer.

s - boozy, but in a vinous way. as soon as i broke through the cork it almost smelled like red wine in the room. there is some good plum and dark fruit notes though. not all that sweet, more booze than sweet for the style. after the transfer/straining there was more sweet in there...smells very nice.

t - in addition to dark fruit there is a decent amount of cocoa and some roastiness. the beer is definitely oxidized as well. i probably should've drank this right when i got it, but held it for a special occasion or tasting and now am popping it as i am trying to drink some of the older bottles that i have to prevent them getting over the hill...may have missed the boat on this one a bit. not bad, but from the reviews sounds like this one was better a year or two ago.

m - still fairly creamy...and fortunately was able to eliminate the bits of cork. first glass i strained through a screen, but then the interweb taught me to rubber band a coffee filter around the neck of the bottle.

o - overall, one of my favorite styles...this is pretty good, but probably held onto for a bit too long. has a bit of a cocoa thing going on. VERY smooth and creamy for an american take on this style. enjoyable, but i bet this one was way better a year ago.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2012 00:31:46 | More by cosmicevan

akorsak

Pennsylvania

3.53/5  rDev -12%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A 750 mL bottle, from February 2008.

A: The dark ale is murky, a quad like cola brown color that is opaque. Not much head though; what's there is off-white trending darker.

S: Dark candi sugars, raisins and brown sugar, along with caramel malts create a big nose. Closer inspection tells me, again, just a little too long in the cellar. Despite that, the quad-like aromas are strong enough to cover up most anything. The darker fruits stand out, I believe, over everything else.

T: The darker flavors bely a fierce beer - dark fruits, booze and candi sugars all swim around. The richness doesn't directly lead to the booziness but it comes close. Darker caramel and roasted malts add to the body. The finishing flavors are a little musty, older, but the quad underneath still packs a flavor punch. Quite complex with a lasting fruit flavor - very dark with raisins and figs in command.

M: Warming and big, small sips are the way to go. Next time around, I wouldn't hold onto this for 4 years though.

Serving type: bottle

04-23-2012 01:02:15 | More by akorsak

KAF

Iowa

3.5/5  rDev -12.7%

01-26-2012 21:13:43 | More by KAF

jophish17

Georgia

3/5  rDev -25.2%

12-24-2011 07:27:43 | More by jophish17

tclapper

North Carolina

4/5  rDev -0.2%

12-03-2011 23:40:07 | More by tclapper

dirtylou

Washington

3.98/5  rDev -0.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

on-tap, duckworths charlotte

appearance: served in an unbranded chalice, very dark - ebony body, fizzy tan head with sparse lacing

smell: figs, spice, booze, dark fruits drenched in rum

taste: potent elixir - big dark fruits, molasses, raisin, dates, rum, stick dark malts, dark cherry, vanilla, lots of belgian yeast. Quite complex but overly strong - glad to find on tap as I don't feel the need to seek out the elusive bottles anymore

mouthfeel: low carbonation, sticky and strong

overall: good

Serving type: on-tap

09-25-2011 21:49:00 | More by dirtylou

alleykatking

Indiana

4.25/5  rDev +6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Poured from cage and cork. Many thanks to mikesgroove for hooking me up with this many moons ago. Shared with betsona. On a side note I flicked the cork with the cage still on and it blew off. Holy shit this beer was bottled with some pressure! No spilling happened. Onto the review.

A- Poured a deep almost chocolate brown color. Three finger mocha colored head showed crazy long retention. Nice thick streaks of lace along with some sheety lace left on the sides of the glass. If the head would have died down a little quicker this would have been a perfect 5 appearance to me.

S- Roasted malts cut with baker's chocolate in the front of the aroma. There is some darker fruits in the there as well but it seems like they also are chocolate covered as well. Hints of clove and banana linger toward the middle and backing. Backing has a underlying burnt sugar aroma to it. Damn this beer smells good!

T- Roasted malt in the front gets calmed down like the aroma with some chocolate malt. This brings forth a nice balance from where you can taste the clove and banana from the yeast strain. Middle of the beer shows some light caramel malt with some burnt sugar flavor as well. Hints of darker fruit come out in the middle of the beer and linger into the ending. Light chocolate malts overrun in the ending along with hints of belgian yeast. The alcohol is clean and not very present.

M- Medium mouthfeel. Carbonation is a little heavy for the beer I thought. Chocoalte, roast, banana, and clove are left on the palate. Aftertaste is light sweet alcohol, chocoalte malt, clove, and hints of darker fruit mixed with banana. Flavors were blended well overall with one flavor leading into another smoothly. No off flavors were present in the drinking. Light alcohol drying overall on this beer.

O- This beer was good I thought. I'm not sure of Andrew's thought on this one but I'm leaning toward a lesser opinion of it. My first beer from this company and I was glad to have tried it. This one was bottled in 2007 or 2008 and to be honest was drinking fantastic right now!

Serving type: bottle

07-01-2011 02:01:05 | More by alleykatking

thagr81us

South Carolina

4.1/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Had during an afternoon ticking session at Pisgah! Served from tap into a shaker pint. Poured a massively dark brown with a half finger light tan head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. Maintained decent lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, banana, and cream. The flavor was of sweet malt, banana, earth, and banana hop. It had a medium feel on the palate with medium-high carbonation. Overall this was a pretty good brew. There was definitely a big Belgian influence going on in this one. The banana was quite evident in the nose and in the flavor. Wasn't surprised at all to find an earthy character in this one if I'm honest... This one was pretty well balanced but definitely more robust in specific aspects. Definitely worth trying if you have not already!

Serving type: on-tap

05-04-2011 12:13:11 | More by thagr81us

jorrx003

Florida

5/5  rDev +24.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

One of the best beers I have ever had. I had this beer on tap at the brewery and it blew me away. A delicious mix of rich dark baltic porter with the fruity, banana-y flavors of the Belgian yeast. This beer was unlike any beer I have had before. The beer looks amazing, with a nice dark reddish hue, smells strongly of the belgian yeast, and then tastes like the beautiful combination of the dark roasted chocolatey porter and the dark fruit and belgian yeast flavors. This beer is amazing and I could not recommend it any more strongly.

Serving type: on-tap

04-30-2011 21:10:38 | More by jorrx003

northyorksammy

Ontario (Canada)

3.58/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Aggressively carbonated bottle from Bruisn' Ales. The carbonation keeps at bay the baltic Porter taste which is there and balance porter/a little sourness malted down, but a muted flavour. Decent drinkability and the alcohol is hidden.Black body with nominal head.SOrt of hits the style.

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2010 00:00:35 | More by northyorksammy

ckeegan04

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

A - Very dark mahogany in color with a thick brown cap of foam. Head slowly fades to about one finger thick and leaves thick rings on the glass. Very active carbonation bubbles quickly rising to the top.

S - Dark chocolate mixed with dark fruits. Hints of fig come to mind. A light roasted maltiness becomes more noticeable as the beer warms.

T - Dark fruits and simi-sweet chocolate. Just a touch of roastiness underneath. The dark fruity Belgian yeast really comes through as the beer warms. Mixing Belgian yeast and roasted malts is an interesting concept, and I would have to say that Pisgah pulled it off.

M/D - Medium to full bodied with a very slick feel. Alcohol is well masked and the beer is very easy drinking.

I have been a bit underwhelmed with Pisgah in thas past (they werent bad, they just werent as good as I had heard) but this one is excellent.

Serving type: bottle

11-17-2010 21:17:23 | More by ckeegan04

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.33/5  rDev +8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes.

Pours a dark brown with a slight light tan head. A tad bit of lacing. Nose brings some dark fruits and roasted malt. Good notes of chocolate. The taste is dark fruits, dates, burnt sugar, some roasted malt, and a bit of alcohol. The feel is nice with the flavors playing nice with the slight alcohol tinge. Drinks quite well and is really nice overall.

Serving type: bottle

11-03-2010 01:34:20 | More by Thorpe429

blackie

Virginia

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

a: deep chocolate brown in color, topped with a mocha head that shows good retention

s: lots of deep chocolate roast, hints of medium roast coffee, black figs and other leathery dark fruits, sweet burnt sugars, yeast profile of clove with some hints at banana

m: well carbonated, perhaps a bit high at first but smoothing out, with a full, slick body

t: big roasty belgian body, chocolate roast first moving towards some deeper charred barley, clovey yeast flavors with some esters, not dominant but quite obvious, fruit leather, finishes with sticky burnt sugars and a thick chocolate/coffee flavor in the back of the throat

d: not a huge fan of the belgian-roast duo, but it's a nice enough drink, and I appreciate the creativity

enjoyed from a plastic cup around a fire at the brewery on a cool late summer night

Serving type: on-tap

09-22-2010 02:32:11 | More by blackie

chaz410

North Carolina

3.85/5  rDev -4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Got this beer at the AMAZING new Duckworths Grill and Taproom in Charlotte NC.
Pours a near black amber brown body with a quarter finger slightly brown head.
Smells of toasted malt, funky belgian yeast, raisen, slight cherry and some tinny, grassy hops.
Taste of tons of roasted malts, toasted grains that lend toward the biscuit malts as well. There's a slight chocolate and caramel hybrid sweetness. There is a mix of funky, tart belgian yeast finish along with a little booze as well as some dry toasted maltiness.
Very smooth mouthfeel that finishes almost dry and doesn't linger.
For the style and ABV I could see having several of these so I consider it fairly drinkable.
Go Go Go Go Duckworths!

Serving type: on-tap

08-18-2010 02:54:03 | More by chaz410

devilben02

North Carolina

4.45/5  rDev +11%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5

I have now had the good fortune to try this beer on multiple occasions, once fresh at the brewery and once with a buddy who was so generous in sharing his two-year old bottle. Both times, it was a pleasant experience, but the aged bottle was one of the better beers I have ever had.

Essentially, it is everything it promises to be and more. Poured in the glass, it is dark and brooding with a thin, lingering, creamy head. The aroma is exactly what I expected based on the description on the bottle: chocolate and dark roasted malt sweetness of a Baltic Porter but with the Belgian yeast adding a little something different. The flavor is a bit more skewed towards the chocolate flavors but with that yeasty tang underneath. The combination is something like a quad that used more roasted malts than usual, but with a candy-sweet finish develops as the beer warms. There's nothing particularly different or interesting about the mouthfeel other than the fact that alcohol was quite mellowed after two years on the shelf, with no hint of the 9.5%.

It's probably a good thing that I don't get out to Asheville often and Pisgah does not distribute out my way, because otherwise I may be tempted to shell out the premium price to always have a bottle of this around. Superb stuff.

Serving type: bottle

08-06-2010 03:24:00 | More by devilben02

Bung

North Carolina

4.35/5  rDev +8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Draft at Duckworths. Very dark brown pour, ample off white head that laces the glass well.

Aroma is pretty much a dark chocolate banana. Yeast and roast.

Taste has more roast, to add a great balance to the the yeasty banana, malt and cocoa.

The lighter mid body makes this quite drinkable. Alcohol is non-existent. Another impressive organic offering, as usual for Pisgah.

Serving type: on-tap

07-23-2010 00:08:50 | More by Bung

BeerAdvocate

Massachusetts

4/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Beer review from BA Mag Sep 2007.

This offering pays homage to the brewer's homebrew roots. It's what American brewers do best: hybrid styles. Baltic Porter meets Belgian yeast--and organic to boot.

Fizzy foam from a semi-hard pour leaves a thick tan lace after a few sips. Dark brown color lets only a little light through the edges with a garnet hue. The yeast is right in your face from the first sniff; aromas of cotton candy and bubble gum are followed by a cocoa powder maltiness. Dreamy smoothness rolls around in the full body with a deep crispness. Big-time chocolate on the palate--very dark chocolate to be more exact. The Belgian yeast throws in some herbal phenols, and the roasted character carries an undertone of char; wrap this around its very complex maltiness, and you've got a faultless balance. Modest hopping. Fruity middle-to-end with dark berries and overripe plum. Estery, but not too pushy. Finishes with a layer of mocha, staying a tad sweet.

Not knocking average-strength craft beers, but this is what should have been in North Carolina all along: a choice--even if that choice is an extreme beer.

Serving type: bottle

07-07-2010 00:12:44 | More by BeerAdvocate

jsanford

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev -6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

On-tap at the Pisgah Brewery in Asheville, NC on 5/29/10

A - Cola-black with a thin creamy tan head, lively carbonation.

S - Belgian yeast, plums, raisins, dates, bit of coffee and chocolate.

T - Roasted malt, dates & raisins, molasses, coffee, Belgian yeast and...citrus?! Whole lot going on.

M - Medium body with medium-high carbonation.

D - Happy with the one I had, got a bit heavy for me towards the end of the glass, but the ABV was well hidden. Overall, a complex brew that was hard to rate by "style" as it runs all over the rails. A unique and memorable brew from Pisgah.

Serving type: on-tap

06-15-2010 03:11:21 | More by jsanford

johnmichaelsen

Oregon

4.22/5  rDev +5.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the brewery the other day.

The beer pours a blackish brown color with good head retention and lacing. The nose on this beer was quite complex, showing leather, funk and a hint of coffee and dark fruits. The flavor profile is impressive and showed an interesting blend of cherry, vanilla, spice and cola. Very nice, and quite the intriguing combination of flavors. On the palate, this beer was not heavy or tiring at all, and I found this to be yet another high abv. beer from Pisgah that carried its alcohol very well. The finish on this beer was smooth and spice filled, with the underlying spice countering the moderate sweetness very well. Nothing seemed to be out of preportion in this well balanced, enjoyable beer.

Very nice effort.

Serving type: on-tap

06-01-2010 15:35:43 | More by johnmichaelsen