1 Door Flemish Style Sour Ale - Hermitage Brewing

EricSS

California

1.75/5  rDev -27.4%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 1 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.75

I made an account on this site in Dec 2011 to review this beer, but I never did.

Its now been a little over a year and I still remeber the main reason I made an account , although none of the details.

Stay away, far away!

Worst beer me and my girlfriend ever had.

We love sours , and all other beers.

This is the only beer(including bud) that's seen the drain. And I've had over 300 different beers since then.

Tasted metallic and like poison. Was on sale at bevmo for like $3 per bomber or something at the time. Its with less, way less. I'd rather drink water.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2013 03:53:24 | More by EricSS

rxbeer

California

3/5  rDev +24.5%

02-07-2013 05:40:58 | More by rxbeer

MadeInOregon

California

4.25/5  rDev +76.3%

01-15-2013 21:01:46 | More by MadeInOregon

jtmartino

California

1/5  rDev -58.5%
look: 1 | smell: 1 | taste: 1 | feel: 1 | overall: 1

Bottle was on sale at BevMo for $2.99/bomber. I knew it was a mistake to buy, but I did it anyways. Chalk that up to wild college days where we used to drink crazy shit out of a used soccer cleat.

Anyways, this beer pours a murky reddish brown. Like overused transmission fluid. Minimal head, minimal lacing. Smells of chemicals and vinegar. Taste is rich up front, then a flood of astrigent, tart, vinegary pain. There is a sharp spiciness like someone spilled 409 cleaner in my glass. Wow, an absolutely horrendous beer. Hard to comment on mouthfeel when I spit it out.

Yeah, another strike against Hermitage. This has to be the worst attempt at a sour beer I've had...even unintentionally infected beer is better than this stuff.

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2013 21:26:30 | More by jtmartino

t0rin0

California

3.5/5  rDev +45.2%

10-14-2012 01:32:30 | More by t0rin0

Jemonster

California

2.4/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

A: Nice reddish/amber brown. Glows nicely in the light. A lot of clarity for the style and color.

S: What I might expect. Straightforward funky sourdough smell, some faint hop character.

T: Toasted barley up front with sourness. Seems kind of like it has an odd choice of hops that doesn't quite fit in. Lacking the sweetness that it needs. Lingering bitterness clashes with the sour, but reminiscent of grapefruit. Some sour apple and unripe lemon are here too.

M: Pretty good. Light and easy drinking texture. Smooth and mellow if judging the mouthfeel alone.

O: I don't like it. Probably (definitely) the worst example of the style that I've come across. It's going to be a struggle to finish the bomber...should I even bother? It is strangely refreshing and palate cleansing though. The score here is a correction for the rest, and how I felt about this beer as a whole. I don't look at the average score before the review, so if it's high, maybe I got a bad bottle and will be willing to give it another chance because this beer is unreasonably bad.

Serving type: bottle

10-13-2012 04:26:17 | More by Jemonster

klipper

Michigan

3/5  rDev +24.5%

09-16-2012 20:41:30 | More by klipper

scottiethebody

California

2.75/5  rDev +14.1%

09-06-2012 05:01:12 | More by scottiethebody

flayedandskinned

California

2/5  rDev -17%

08-06-2012 20:57:35 | More by flayedandskinned

yeastinfection

California

1/5  rDev -58.5%

07-09-2012 05:59:54 | More by yeastinfection

ithinkimasofa

Washington

2.25/5  rDev -6.6%

06-25-2012 00:36:48 | More by ithinkimasofa

ngeunit1

California

3/5  rDev +24.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A - Pours a fairly clear amber-orange color with a thin layer of frothy off-white head. The head fades down quickly leaving behind a little lace.

S - Aroma is a mix of sour green apple, a bit of dark fruit, funky yeast, sour cherry, some acidity, and a bit of booze.

T - Starts off with some sour green apple and cherry with some tartness and acidity. Through the middle, some more sour and lightly funky flavors come through with a bit of sweet malt. The finish is a mix of sour and tart green apple and cherry with some acidity, funk, and a bit of booze.

M - Medium bodied with moderate carbonation. Feels smooth with a tart and acidic finish.

D - Pretty drinkable. The sour and tartness is nice, but there seems to be a bit of off flavors mixed in a well throwing off the balance.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2012 04:27:57 | More by ngeunit1

pumptrick

California

1.5/5  rDev -37.8%

06-11-2012 21:54:12 | More by pumptrick

Burlyn

2.2/5  rDev -8.7%
look: 4 | smell: 2 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2.5

App: A nice red mahogany. little to no head.

Sm: smells like sour apple. for 7% ABV you dont notice any alcohol.

tst: slightly sour at first followed by a bitter aftertaste. I want it to be more sour and complex.

mtf: very light and thin, and after awhile it leaves a slippery film in your mouth

overall: for 2.45 you cant complain, but it goes without saying that there are definitely better sour beers as well as ales out there

Serving type: bottle

05-16-2012 03:04:42 | More by Burlyn

zacheney

Oregon

2/5  rDev -17%

04-01-2012 23:32:28 | More by zacheney

haver

Ohio

3.63/5  rDev +50.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Poured into a half pint glass. Small cream head with a pleasant nose of sweet tart. The color is a very nice amber haze. Reminds me of clover honey. The taste is first bitter then sour and quickly turns tart with a touch of sweetness. Perfect carbonation and body. The finish is very clean and dry. I was a little apprehensive to try this style but I was pleasantly surprised how nice it was. You have good color, nose, taste, mouth feel. Hell it even had pretty good lacing on the glass. Not for carbonation alcohol water lovers or hop heads, but a great Sour ale (not that I had a lot of sours) for people looking and willing to try all things Beer. Very nice.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2012 05:09:29 | More by haver

SHODriver

California

3/5  rDev +24.5%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

A: Pours brown with a slight red hue with no head. ring around the glass is slightly off white
S: Smells like a warhead. Sugary sweet with a bit of sourness. Interesting...
T: slightly fruity with some caramel sweetness, sourness comes in mid drink along with a slight funk. tart on the swallow yielding to a slight malty taste that fades to funk
M: low carbonation and thin in the mouth
O: not bad for 2.50 but it does leave a bit to be desired in both tartness and boldness of flavor

Serving type: bottle

02-25-2012 05:16:56 | More by SHODriver

Gueuzedude

Arizona

3.28/5  rDev +36.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Sampled August 2011
A steady pour into my large Triple Karmeliet Tulip produces a two finger thick, nicely amber tinged tan colored head; it even leaves some layered lacing on the sides of my glass as it slowly subsides. The beer is a dark, concentrated amber / brown color that shows a bright red, somewhat hazy hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells quite fruity with lots of tartness and fruit character that reminds me of cherries, lots of tart raisin notes and even some dark plum notes (this last seem concentrated, though not quite enough to be called prune-like). Brown sugar and pale toasted whole grain aromatics serve as a backdrop to the up-front fruitiness; if you really dig the malt character becomes a bit more present, but it never completely shakes the tart cherry notes. The tartness here in the nose seems more fruit like than either acetic or lactic for some reason.

Nicely tart tasting up front, the beer even gets a little more tart as it rolls across the tongue. The tartness tastes strongly of cherries; again it makes me think that the sourness is from fruit rather than lactic or acetic fermentation, but there is a brighter, somewhat thin acidity in the finish that doesn’t really seem fruit derived. There is a nice, soft, browned malt note to this that adds a touch of almost burnt grain bitterness, as well as touch of toasted browned grain character. Some of the rich malt character seems to be contributed by some oxidized malt flavors that provide some nuttiness as well as a hint of sherry like notes; though with the fruitiness this definitely seems to have some flavors of port to it. The body of this beer has some fullness to it, there is not a lot of viscousness here and the beer actually finishes pretty light on the palate. The cherry character in this beer almost tastes as if cherries were added to this beer; the type of cherries seem more like bing type cherries rather than the rich sour pie-type cherries that provide the best flavor.

There is not much information about this beer that I could find, given that it is such a departure for this brewery, I almost wonder if the acidity was artificially added. The tartness here is quite a bit different from what I am used to, but that doesn’t mean it is artificially added; it just has me wondering. Even given my questioning, this beer is actually probably a bit better than I was expecting.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2012 03:29:00 | More by Gueuzedude

kojevergas

California

3.35/5  rDev +39%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

1 pint 6 fl oz brown glass bottle with standard pressure cap served into an EKU 28 snifter in low altitude Los Angeles, California. Reviewed live. Paired with pretzel goldfish (hey, they're scrumptious, alright!?). Expectations are poor given its current rating on the site (and my own observed tendency to rarely rate a beer higher than the aggregate).

A: Pours a one finger head of fair cream and thickness, and good retention. Colour is a transparent bright copper-red. Generally appealing. Nothing unique catches me fancy.

Sm: The aroma is dominated by pleasant bright fruits - likely cherry and raspberry. Cream. Lightly toasted malt perhaps. A bit vinegary. No hops or roast. No yeast. Quite pleasant and inviting overall. The fermented cherry is quite fanciful. A moderately strong, but subtle aroma.

T: Cherry is dominant, with a lovely berry climax accompanied by light sourness and perhaps some wild yeast. It isn't horribly complex, but the fruit esters never feel artifical or syrupy. It's well balanced and built all around in spite of its disappointing simplicity. The flavours aren't horribly strong, but I find them enjoyable. It's not refreshing, but it's clean and pleasant. I do like it.

Mf: Smooth and wet, suiting the flavours nicely - if only by not intruding. Perhaps a bit too thin. Cream would be out of place here. Light on the palate. It stays out of the way just as it should, letting the flavours preside.

Dr/Ov: Quite drinkable, especially for the above average ABV - which is well concealed. I'd have it again, ideally on draught. The ABV is too low for aging, and the sourness not quite pronounced enough. I look forward to trying more beers from this brewery. I was pleasantly surprised by this beer.

Probably best served with an acidic cheese. It didn't suit the pretzel goldfish particularly well. It drank just fine out of me snifter.

The aroma is probably my favourite aspect of this beer, but the taste doesn't quite deliver on the promise of the aroma - at least not in the case of the fruit. For this reason I've deducted from the overall; I believe it belongs in the middle of the B- range.

B-

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2012 06:43:56 | More by kojevergas

thagr81us

South Carolina

2.83/5  rDev +17.4%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3

Big thanks goes out to my doppelganger for sharing this one during a tasting! Served from bottle into a Mikkeller taster flute. Poured a deep red-orange with with a minimal off-white head. Maintained nice lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, candied sugar, caramel, and sugar. The flavor was of sweet malt, caramel, wood, and very subtle tart. It had a light feel on the palate with medium carbonation. Overall this wasn't an overly good brew. There was just something about this one that didn't agree with my palate. For the style that this is 'supposed' to be in, it is definitely not in the league of others in the style. Worth trying if you want to tick it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to do so.

Serving type: bottle

02-10-2012 04:42:45 | More by thagr81us

ehammond1

California

1.98/5  rDev -17.8%
look: 3.5 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3 | overall: 1.5

Bottle (2011)

Thanks for opening this one, Nathan!

A somewhat active dull crimson and brown, with a quickly forming, though fast disappearing tan head. This leaves spots of lace down the glass. Not particularly unattractive.

I knew this wasn't going to be a very good beer upon first whiff. It immediately reminded me of celery, salt, and V8 tomato juice. There's a bit of vinegar acidity, but not a lot. There may also be some lettuce aroma, which is altogether strange.

The taste isn't much, if any, better, though the distinct V8 character is missing. It's more of a dulled, mild Flanders, with a bit of both cherry and sherry, and quite a bit of cardboard oxidation. Unimpressed.

Thin to medium mouthfeel and somewhat lifeless.

Not at all a good example of the style...or of anything for that matter.

Serving type: bottle

01-24-2012 22:55:03 | More by ehammond1

bradner

Illinois

3/5  rDev +24.5%

01-14-2012 02:46:36 | More by bradner

KidRagnarok

California

2.5/5  rDev +3.7%

01-12-2012 03:14:44 | More by KidRagnarok

kornkid8600

California

2/5  rDev -17%

01-09-2012 08:59:07 | More by kornkid8600

hawkmage

California

3.5/5  rDev +45.2%

12-31-2011 04:48:11 | More by hawkmage