Black Raspberry Reserve - Sly Fox Brewing Company

frank4sail

New Jersey

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Wonderful light purple look with a frothy light beige head. Very refreshing wheaty raspberry nose. The taste is as it smells and is very well balenced. The raspberry is there but not overly sweet. The brew is quite dry upfront and then it sweetens slightly in the finish. Quite drinkable and quenching. The mouth is medium with a slight pucker in the finish. I like it!

Serving type: on-tap

08-30-2004 02:34:34 | More by frank4sail

InspectorBob

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

05-29-2013 17:39:28 | More by InspectorBob

gr0g

New Jersey

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

05-09-2013 03:59:08 | More by gr0g

baybum

Pennsylvania

2.25/5  rDev -37.5%

04-23-2013 01:36:17 | More by baybum

inlimbo77

Delaware

3.78/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.75

750ml, 2012
Tired Hands wine glass

A: Pours a deep dark blush red color. Good carbonation, tiny bubbles from bottom of the glass. Thin layer of off white head. Some lacing bits.

S: On the nose, just epic amounts of raspberry. Almost like a raspberry sorbet like sweetness and smell. Fresh fruit amped up with sugar.

T: You get fruit in the tip if the tongue. Not overly tart, but natural raspberry tart and sweetness. Don't know what grain bill is, but there is some body here. Drinks like a thicker fruit juice with some booze.

M: Medium bodied. It's bottle conditioned but does linger on palate.

Serving type: bottle

02-15-2013 18:03:25 | More by inlimbo77

cjoc83

Pennsylvania

3.54/5  rDev -1.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Couldn't find a bottled on date, but it did have best by date of 5/24/14, so I'm assuming it's pretty fresh. Pours into a tulip a hazy burgundy with a beautiful, but small, magenta head that fades fast and leaves no lace. A very nice looking beer.

Smells of raspberry and grape juice, very sweet and candy-like. A little malt. Kind of one-note, but still smells great.

Not as sweet as the nose lets on, which isn't a bad thing. This brew could have easily become cloyingly sweet, and while the raspberry flavor is the dominant note and present throughout, it isn't overpowering. I get some grape notes in there too. I would have liked a little tartness in there, but I'm finding very little, if any at all. There's some sweet and bready malt, some wheat, and an almost cotton candy finish. Maybe some faint acidity. The 8% abv isn't noticeable at all.

Light body, feels a little under-carbonated. Slightly watery. Easy drinking.

Overall, I think this is definitely one of the better fruit beers out there. While I'm not blown away by it by any means (and in fact I didn't even buy it, I just snagged a small pour from my girl), it's certainly enjoyable. I would have liked a little tartness in there to cut some of the sweetness, as this is kind of a one trick pony. But it's a pretty good trick.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 23:10:30 | More by cjoc83

JayKay412

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -23.6%

01-26-2013 23:35:26 | More by JayKay412

THECPJ

Delaware

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

01-22-2013 18:12:44 | More by THECPJ

xnicknj

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -23.6%

12-14-2012 02:47:16 | More by xnicknj

Knapp85

Pennsylvania

2.25/5  rDev -37.5%

10-26-2012 13:18:00 | More by Knapp85

tmars13

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

08-28-2012 04:08:49 | More by tmars13

tobelerone

New Jersey

4.08/5  rDev +13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

On tap at the Phoenixville brewpub. Pours an intense dark red raspberry color with a tiny pink that dissipates quickly. Lacing is pretty much non existent.

Aroma of super fresh raspberries with a touch of wheat underneath. But this one is all about fresh fruit; smells sweet and tart and most importantly real; nothing artificial in the aroma at all. It's like sticking your face into a basket of freshly picked berries.

The flavor is right on as well; it's simple and to the point; fresh raspberries with the accompanying tartness you'd expect and much less sweetness than implied in the nose. In this way it's very much like eating the fresh fruit; it's not candy sweet at all. Again there is a touchy of wheat flavor underneath but this is a one-trick pony. Thankfully it's a tasty one.

Medium light body, crisp carbonation, clean drinking. The finish dries up fairly well and leaves a slowly fading memory of the tart fruit. Very refreshing. I think this one comes close to a more heralded beer like New Glarus' Raspberry Tart. Perhaps not quite as intensely flavored, but not far off, and certainly less sweet.

Serving type: on-tap

07-29-2012 15:40:22 | More by tobelerone

Hessian257

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev +4.2%

07-29-2012 14:38:53 | More by Hessian257

TimoP

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

07-22-2012 17:05:46 | More by TimoP

JSkone09

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev +18.1%

07-15-2012 18:02:05 | More by JSkone09

claspada

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -9.7%

06-18-2012 15:18:26 | More by claspada

josefnewsong

New York

4/5  rDev +11.1%

02-16-2012 18:50:16 | More by josefnewsong

ithinkimasofa

Washington

3/5  rDev -16.7%

02-13-2012 07:43:52 | More by ithinkimasofa

Magikbrew

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

02-04-2012 21:12:32 | More by Magikbrew

heff316

Pennsylvania

3.5/5  rDev -2.8%

01-14-2012 01:51:18 | More by heff316

jmdrpi

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +11.1%

11-23-2011 23:44:13 | More by jmdrpi

mikesgroove

South Carolina

4.5/5  rDev +25%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

dark brownish black like color that you could swear had something else going on in there. nice tight head formed on top.

aroma is charred malts, berries, hints of caramel and light vanilla and splash of berry. really comes in waves, at first i could pick it p quite nicely but it seemed to fade on me and then it was a nice malt driven porter like beer, interesting things going on here for sure. lots of fruit in the taste but it seemed odd in a way that is hard to place completely. smooth finish left little in the wake.

Serving type: bottle

11-02-2011 02:51:53 | More by mikesgroove

Rifugium

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +11.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

First had: bottle at Sly Fox, Phoenixville, PA

Nice beer. Pours a beautiful dark ruby brown, carbonated, with a lush thick pink-white head. Poured aggressively, yielding well over 2 fingers of head that receded somewhat but remained as a very nice 1/4 inch of foam, uniform across the surface, throughout the drinking session. Great aroma of fresh blackberries. More of the same in the taste, with a very pronounced raspberry/blackberry taste that doesn't disappoint. Clean and crisp and tart, lots of fruit, with a solid malt background, and a distinctive wheat base. It delivers what's promised. Finishes dry with an acidic aftertaste. Light-medium body, pleasant, and highly drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-17-2011 02:42:03 | More by Rifugium

Jimmys

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

A: eggplant, with a faint bubbly head. rapid carbonation. has the appearance of champagne.

S: raspberries and a little bread.

T: berry juice and a shitload of carbonation. the carbonation actually masks any subtle flavors. maybe a little malt? it's a raspberry brew so to see this as the dominant flavor isn't much of a shocker.

M: light fruit body with a shitload of carbonation.

D: definitely a good fruit beer. it was interesting to taste as it warmed and some of the carbonation subdued. a little bit more complexity arose and it wasn't as single noted. worth a try.

Serving type: bottle

01-30-2011 23:11:05 | More by Jimmys

mgbickel

Pennsylvania

3.68/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Poured from a 750ml bottle (great cork donning the Sly Fox logo) into a flute after allowing the bottle to breath for a few minutes. The pour formed a missive, 4 finger head of pink-magenta foam. Slow dissipation left behind trails and trails of fluff coating the glass. The body is a crystal clear ruby color with some brownish hues and lots of active bubbles.

As expected, the sour aroma of raspberries dominate the nose. The background has some grainy, almost grassy aromas.

I was expecting the flavorings of this beer to be sweet, but no, no sweetness at all! Bitter, dark raspberries at first move into a slightly malty and grainy finish. There are floral undertones present throughout the drink.

Light-medium mouth feel, slightly oily with lots of carbonation.

This is a good drinking fruit beer! I could not take down an entire bottle on my own, but great for sharing!

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2010 18:48:59 | More by mgbickel