Gatekeeper (Sour) - Indigo Imp Brewery

weeare138

Pennsylvania

3.6/5  rDev +7.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to hopdog for this...
Appears a dark brown nearing black with dark mahogany edges.
Smell is of vanilla, cocoa, roast grain, espresso, sour cherries, and grapes.
Taste is of the aromas with a tart apple flavor pulling through with the soured coffee hanging out.
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, tart, and semi-dry in the finish.

Serving type: bottle

11-10-2010 00:14:42 | More by weeare138

sixerofelixir

Ohio

3.55/5  rDev +6%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

12 oz bottle, which is indeed indigo.

Pours a very dark brown, hardly any head. Smell is medicinal, with hints of dark cherries and licorice. Taste is ultra-sour at first, bitter beer-face all over it. But after a sip or two, I got used to it and started getting very vivid bleu cheese/gorgonzola flavors. Very odd, but a fun and unique experience. Even though my score won't show it, I'd drink this one again. I imagine this would pair great with a steak or something.

Serving type: bottle

12-29-2010 18:06:06 | More by sixerofelixir

Spider889

Ohio

2.25/5  rDev -32.8%
look: 2 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 1.5

This was my first experience with Indigo Imp, tasted during Cleveland Beer Week. This was marketed as a sour version of their Gatekeeper Porter. After tasting (and reading some of the reviews of the normal Gatekeeper) I have concluded that this may well just be an infected beer that the brewery is trying to still sell.

If that is true, not sure if I should give the brewery props - for having the balls to sell it knowingly, as well as the wherewithal to rebrand the beer. At least they didn't just sell it as a regular porter and have you find out the hard way. Either way, my review...

Pours a thick black. No head at all, actually it looks flat.

Smelled interesting enough. At this point I'm still in full belief that they intentionally brewed a sour porter. Coffee and dark malts greet the nose, and then are pushed aside by tart cherry and sweet candied fruit notes. My friend thought it smelled like a cherry cough drop (I'm assuming one of the sweet Luden's ones).

The flavor really reminded me of the last infected stout that I tasted. Certainly the base flavors are in there somewhere. Malts, roasted barley, etc.. but all you really notice is the sour character. Tart cherries and a bittersweet mouthwash flavor dominate.

Thin bodied on the palate and really felt pretty flat for the most part.

Drinkable? Didn't finish the beer. Maybe it's what they told me it was and I just didn't like it, but I really think it's just an infection. Sometimes a mistake can lead to a eureka moment. In this case though I hope it never happens again.

Serving type: bottle

11-07-2010 10:13:17 | More by Spider889