Electrostatic - Lightning Brewery

ste5venla

California

3.75/5  rDev 0%

09-05-2012 18:38:08 | More by ste5venla

JxExM

New York

3.75/5  rDev 0%

02-17-2013 22:54:06 | More by JxExM

FremontBar

Arizona

3.9/5  rDev +4%
look: 5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

A: Poured into tulip appears as a hazy grapeftuit-orange color, large head dissipates rather quickly.
S: Yeasty, boozy, with some sweetness and fruit
T: Taste a malty sweetness with some fruit, yeast, and alcohol.
M: Full bodied with good carbonation
O: An interesting beer, at first I found it too boozy but then it mellowed and more complex flavors came through. My first Biere de Garde style and since I have a few bottles I plan on aging them to see what happens.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 02:30:42 | More by FremontBar

ngeunit1

California

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A - Pours a hazy golden-orange with a finger off-white head. The head fades down very slowly leaving behind some nice lacing.

S - Aroma is a mix of sweet grainy and pilsner malts with Belgian yeast, banana, spices, lemon zest, and bit of booze.

T - Starts off with a mix of sweet grainy and pilsner malts with some lemon zest citrus hops and some coriander. Through the middle, some more Belgian yeast flavor comes through with some banana, clove, and more coriander. The finish is a mix of Belgian yeast, coriander, clove, spices, sweet grainy malts, lemon zest, and a touch of booze.

M - Medium-plus bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a sweet, spicy, and estery finish.

D - Very drinkable. Nice Bière de Garde. Good balance of yeast flavors and body and malts.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2012 04:08:27 | More by ngeunit1

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +6.7%

10-21-2012 12:33:51 | More by t0rin0

inlimbo77

Delaware

3.28/5  rDev -12.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

22oz, Winter '12
Lost Abbey tulip

A: Pours a fairly clear amber orange color. Basically only a ringer around the edges off white head. Carbonation seems minimal.

S: Nose is strange, almost vinous. Very white grape and apple notes. And alcohol.

T: Flavor follows the nose. It's not that great. I get that strange alcohol laden white grape and apple cider flavor.

M: Medium bodied.

Serving type: bottle

08-27-2012 18:55:25 | More by inlimbo77

Irrationalist

California

4.25/5  rDev +13.3%

08-10-2012 06:00:47 | More by Irrationalist

jdmandel

California

4.75/5  rDev +26.7%

07-08-2012 07:30:36 | More by jdmandel

beer2day

North Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +12%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Very nice orange gold color with constantly swirling bubble stream. Frothy 2+ fingers of light cream head. Excellent retention and thick, chunky sheets of lace.

Nose is spice and dry fruit. Arid. Light coriander and orange peel. Nice and not overstated. A bit of hop slips in with the oranges.

Not a big farmhouse fan and was a bit put off by the nose. The taste made up for that. Light spice still there, but bigger orange and lemon zest flavors. Dry finish with a touch of sweetness. Not much hop bite, but what is there touches on a Belgian pale. No sign of the abv, but I can feel it.

Feel is smooth, but not quite thick enough for the abv or the flavor. A touch cloying in the finish.

Overall, the feel brings it down a notch but still a pretty tasty glass.

Serving type: bottle

06-26-2012 01:26:51 | More by beer2day

ThePorterSorter

New York

3.45/5  rDev -8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Bottle from 2009

The beer pours an apple cider brown with various hues of light browns and absolutely no head. There is tons of sediment at the bottom that adds to the beers cloudiness. The nose is yeasty and boozy with an initial tartness reminding me even more of drinking cider. The tasty is just as boozy and yeasty as the nose. There is a lot of fruit including apples, rainier cherries, and a slight tobacco-y fig. The mouthfeel is too boozy for being 3 years old and there is almost no carbonation. Not a god awful beer, but definitely didn't blow me away either.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 00:07:32 | More by ThePorterSorter

merc7186

New York

3.23/5  rDev -13.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Thanks to THEPORTERSORTER for sharing this unknown brewer.

I had this beer poured from a bomber into a tulip glass.

A: Orangish/Amber Hue, Passes Minimal Light, Very Thin Head Ring that dissaptes, No Lacing

S: Fruity, Mildly Funky

T: Apples, Papaya, Mild Pear

M: Poorly Carbonated, Light to Medium Bodied, Mildly Sweet, Mildly Funky

Overall, this might have been better as a fresh beer but just doesnt seem to fit any specific mode.

Serving type: bottle

06-03-2012 00:04:48 | More by merc7186

yokken

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -20%

03-18-2012 05:02:21 | More by yokken

mrelizabeth

California

3/5  rDev -20%

02-18-2012 21:35:17 | More by mrelizabeth

zonker17

Illinois

3/5  rDev -20%

01-28-2012 02:00:31 | More by zonker17

heresy22

California

4.5/5  rDev +20%

01-06-2012 19:03:34 | More by heresy22

TheBishopco

Tennessee

4.5/5  rDev +20%

12-24-2011 08:49:30 | More by TheBishopco

wattershed

California

4.5/5  rDev +20%

11-16-2011 23:24:36 | More by wattershed

mactrail

California

3.43/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

It's quite a mouthful of flavor and the sugary-sharp-bitter-funk is powerful along with the alcohol. Orange amber in the big tulip glass with a lovely creamy head. Quite carbonated in the mouth, perhaps more than I really want. Adds a little much of the seltzer flavor, but it helps the medicine go down. This is so sweet, and it seems to get sweeter as you sip. Maybe the sugar is accentuated by the yeasty, fruity flavors. Scent of leather, stewed fruit, sweat.

Fine for sipping slowly. And not a lot at a time. I am unconvinced that this is a style that needs the Imperial treatment.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2011 05:36:51 | More by mactrail

DeanMoriarty

California

3.53/5  rDev -5.9%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Picked up a 22 OZ bomber for $5.99 from Olive Tree Market here in OB and poured it into a Brouwerij 't Ij branded tulip glass.

A: Pours a hazy amber hue with golden edges, a light effervescence, small amounts of sediment, fluffy off-white head, with some lacing.

S: Big blast of sweet malt and spice up front, banana and other tropical fruits, farmhouse yeast with a slightly boozy and bready finish.

T: On point with the nose - banana bread with spices, sweet biscuit, with a bit of hot booze at the very end. Good but not all that interesting.

M: Medium to full-bodied brew, very well carbonated, slightly syrupy and chewy, finishing with some heat from the booze - they're definitely not hiding that 10%!

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2011 05:21:00 | More by DeanMoriarty

Chizoad

California

3.95/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A high test version that probably isn't quite the biere de garde style, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Cloudy orange with medium head. Think Blue Moon but better looking.

Mild banana and Belgian yeast aromas, heavy on the malt.

Enjoyable flavor, but nothing outstanding. Not balanced by any bittering hops as far as I could tell. Mostly malt and spices, but I couldn't identify anything specific.

Body is a little heavy for the style, but overall not bad. Didn't find it boozy in the least.

Serving type: on-tap

04-14-2011 16:49:29 | More by Chizoad

Dijeriduster

California

2.3/5  rDev -38.7%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 2.5

On tap at Small Bar in SD

A - Amber colour with an off white head. Chill haze is present.

S - Hard to really get anything. Some spice but not much complexity.

T - Eh, its got some booze in there and the large grain bill makes this kinda syrupy. Overall kinda dull and overwhelmed by the alcohol.

M - Somewhat syrupy as above.

O - Not my cup of tea for a farmale. I was looking for more yeast character and complexity. This was a bit of a mess with garbled flavours.

Serving type: on-tap

04-07-2011 16:19:21 | More by Dijeriduster

BuckeyeNation

Iowa

3.98/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

"I shall make electricity so cheap that only the rich can afford to burn candles."

--Thomas Alva Edison

Following a crisp 'pffft' on crown cracking and a fleeting wisp of gunsmoke, this saison is a vigorously carbonated harvest orange with a huge head of mousse-like foam that's equal parts pastel orange and ivory. A lack of stickiness leads to almost no glass coverage, but that's the only real negative.

The aroma is sweeter and more boozy (in a good way) than most saisons. There's also a fruity tartness and a mild spiciness that might turn out okay on the palate. This could be interesting beer since it's shaping up to be light years away from a standard farmhouse ale.

Against all odds, Electrostatic Ale is pretty good stuff. It helps if you like sweet, high-ABV beer that uses hugely estery yeast. The hops have undoubtedly faded after one year in the bottle, but it doesn't seem to have mattered. Then again, I didn't get the chance to drink this big brew fresh.

The sugar cookie-like malt backbone is oxen sturdy. The hops, again, don't add much to the party. Therefore, the majority of the flavor profile is due to a yeast that throws off loads of banana and bubblegum. Without checking the other reviews, this is probably a polarizer. Put me on the cathode.

Although bubbles are still abundant, they've calmed down enough by the middle of the bomber to provide welcome mouth energy rather than unwelcome annoyance. All those malt sugars do what malt sugars do.... create a plush lushness that is mucho enjoyable.

Lightning Brewery beer, in my somewhat limited experience, is average to slightly above average. Guess that means that Electrostatic Ale the best of the lot. Even though this won't be everyone's cup of grog, I'm finding it to be strangely enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

08-01-2010 12:38:21 | More by BuckeyeNation

number1bum

Pennsylvania

2.95/5  rDev -21.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

Got this bottle awhile back from BeerTruth. Shared with myrmnngjckt and I'm glad I did because a whole bottle would have been hard to finish on my own.

Pour is a hazy golden color with about an inch and a half of off-white head. Keeps pretty well - mostly full lace and some webbing on the sides.

Smell is sweet, musty, spicy. Sweeter than I'd like, although there is enough spice and herbal qualities to compensate. Interesting...

Meh, ok, the sweetness in the nose translates into more sweetness on the palate. Too much. It's cloyingly sweet at times, with some herbal, grassy, spicy and yeasty qualities that poke in enough to save it somewhat, but at the end of the day it's just too damn sweet.

Mouthfeel is medium-full bodied and the sweetness is just too much. None of the crispness or dryness that a saison should offer. It's sticky sweet like an overly sweet tripel.

This was a tough one. Way too sweet, and a good example of why 'imperial' and 'saison' don't belong together. None of the crispness or dryness that makes a saison so refreshing and cleansing. If this were toned down it would be somewhat drinkable. As it is now, the sweetness kills it and it's just too much. I wouldn't come back.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2010 02:57:14 | More by number1bum

Wasatch

Utah

4/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks goes out to Bitterbill for this brew.

22oz. Bomber

Poured into a chalice a nice cloudy orange/yellow color, nice carbonation, nice one-finger foamy white head, with some sticky lacing left behind. The nose is malty, with some yeast, corinader. The taste is malty, sweet, yeasty, with some corinader. Medium body. Drinkable, this is a very nice Saison, quite high on the ABV, so it's got some punch. My first from this brewery, thanks Bill.

Serving type: bottle

05-22-2009 21:29:27 | More by Wasatch

ChainGangGuy

Georgia

3.13/5  rDev -16.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Appearance: Pours a hazy, amber body infused with some fine particles and topped with a thinnish, bubbly, white head.

Smell: Spicy, sweet-scented aroma of cooked caramel, dried citrus peel, and a dash of dried herbs and flowers.

Taste: Abundant caramel maltiness with a distant touch of tangy wheat. All the while there's this thriving sugary sweetness. Hint of clove. A bit of orange peel. A handful of dried herbs. Minute amount of hops and even less bitterness. Slight earthy yeastiness. Finishes a tad cloying.

Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Medium carbonation. A bit syrupy.

Drinkability: Is it different? Sure. Did I enjoy it? Not so much. With a heavy, heady maltiness, a syrupy body, a dialed up alcohol component, and a severe lack of balancing hops, they seem to have completely bred all of the refreshing, quenching qualities right out of the saison.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2009 18:15:19 | More by ChainGangGuy