Big Sound Scotch Ale - Rum Barrel Aged
Cigar City Brewing

750 mL bottle poured into a snifter. Reviewed from notes. I should preface this review by saying that I was fully aware of the infection before opening. It's difficult to review to style, as I thought that it tasted quite interesting, but clearly not to the scotch ale style.

Appearance - Nice head. Deep mahogany. Good lacing. Looks great, really.

Smell - Apples. Slight tart acidity. Some cherry aromas. No rum and no malt. No barrel, either. If I'm honest, it doesn't smell bad at all, though.

Taste - Immediate tartness. Dry fruit of the apple persuasion. Tastes like an oud bruin. Dry bitterness and astringency with an odd finish.

Mouthfeel - Very dry and very light. High carbonation.

Overall - I find this to be drinkable. It's obviously not what was intended, but it has its merits. To style, it's awful. As a Flanders Red or an Oud Bruin, it could be passable. Not good, but passable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Been dreading opening this one after reading about the infection right when I was shipped the bottle. Glad I finally did.

Pours dark reddish brown with a bubbly tan head. Good retention and lace.

Aroma shows it's definitely infected, but it isn't overly acentone like. Smells like a kriek mostly with a nutty grainy caramel malt character.

Not too bad for an infection and not nearly as bad as some others I've had recently. Lots of nuttyness. Caramel/toffee with some fig character which IIRC all would come from the base beer. A nice tart cherry balances this out, but isn't overpowering. Actually a pretty good addition. Rum peaks in at the end to add a bit of a burn with some oak.

Infection definitely dried out this beer more than probably intended, but ok with me since I like dry beers. Fortunately even though it's not perfect mouthfeel the infection didn't thin it out too much or cause overcarbing.

Glad I sat on this for a while as it appears to be rounding into something drinkable if not intended. We all rather enjoyed this and if you just told me it was a dark sour, I wouldn't have batted an eye. A few issues due to the infection, but I've had many non-infected beers be much worse than this.