Silvius - Boom Island Brewing Company

joh02034

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +10.3%

02-02-2013 20:22:49 | More by joh02034

sparx1100

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -11.8%

05-03-2013 03:52:47 | More by sparx1100

sacrelicio

Minnesota

4/5  rDev +17.6%

02-26-2013 07:17:35 | More by sacrelicio

drop6301

Oregon

3.25/5  rDev -4.4%

02-24-2013 05:21:36 | More by drop6301

TylerKohlhagen

Wisconsin

4.5/5  rDev +32.4%

01-07-2013 00:17:29 | More by TylerKohlhagen

jsprain1

Minnesota

3.75/5  rDev +10.3%

11-27-2012 03:54:41 | More by jsprain1

BierVogel

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%

11-03-2012 21:43:47 | More by BierVogel

doucmehu

Wisconsin

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%

09-02-2012 15:04:42 | More by doucmehu

feloniousmonk

Minnesota

3.58/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5

Boom Island Silvius Pale Ale, Boom Island Brewing Company, minneapolis, Minnesota. Alc by Vol. 5.5%.

Once again, I'll look at the front of the label now, and the back later. What do they say frontwise? This: "Inspired by a mythical, giant-killing soldier, we're tempted to say this gold medal winning pale ale will slay you with it's palate-boggling depth of flavors and surprisingly dry finish. But we're not big on wordplay or swordplay. So we'll just let Silvius speak for itself."

Well, speak, boy, speak!

First, what does he look like? High carbonation, clouding the glass, darkish amber coloring, under a dotted off-white, lace-leaver of a head. Nice start.

Aroma: hops and malt, with a hit of spice. Funky Belgian yeast shows it's stripes. Just what I'm looking for in a Belgian pale ale. A brace of fruit, apple and peach, with raisins and a drizzle of caramel for dessert, and a dusting of spice.

Taste: soft, smooth, fruity and malty. Just enough hops to keep it interesting, but not enough to make it interesting enough. Lean-bodied, short finish, easy-drinking. Lacks the promise felt in the nose. If I were Clara Peller or Walter Mondale, I'd be either dead of maybe dead, nobody's really sure. And I'd ask where some beef is, a metaphor for discovering a void of body and character. I'm not a brewer, so I can't trot out technical terms about attenuation and mashing, but this one does not have much happening after the first swallow. Gets a little funky/wild/sour on the tongue further in, but there's not the promised depth. Malt is meager compared to spice.

Let's peek at "The Skinny on Silvius":
"Aroma: toasted malt backbone.

Appearance: light copper color. Full creamy white head.

Flavor: Light hop bitterness, melds nicely with malty biscuit and toastiness paired with light peppery spiciness. Finish is medium to dry with malt flavor returning slightly.

Overall impression: Toasted maltiness comes across just right. Wonderfully nice brew!"

Again, I'll say it. It's in their best interests to remove the "Overall impression" part. Why would a brewer offer their "impression" that they made a "wonderfully nice brew"?

Serving type: bottle

08-30-2012 01:22:38 | More by feloniousmonk

mothman

Saskatchewan (Canada)

3/5  rDev -11.8%

07-29-2012 03:34:46 | More by mothman

zirkusaffe

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%

07-07-2012 17:12:07 | More by zirkusaffe

herman77

Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -4.4%

06-04-2012 14:46:03 | More by herman77

cpolking

Iowa

3.93/5  rDev +15.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

The beer pours a hazy burnt orange and amber. There is a massive, foamy head that is off-white in color.

The aroma is grassy, citrusy, fruity, nutty and moderately yeasty.

The taste is surprisingly malty, quite nutty, toffee, with some yeast and grassiness, and a light fruity tart note.

The mouthfeel is mildly carbonated, light for its substantial flavor, and finishes lightly dry.

This is a very tasty beer!

Serving type: bottle

05-25-2012 22:51:42 | More by cpolking

JackieTH

Minnesota

3.65/5  rDev +7.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Corked and caged 750 mL bottle. Hazy, honey orange pour with a light foamy head. Not much lace, but a persistent skein remained.

Smell is light and malty, a bit biscuity.

Taste is a pleasant melding of light fruitiness, lightly citric hop initially, then a toasty, biscuit, caramel malt. Very lightly sweet, but essentially dry and finishes fairly clean.

Medium light body, lightly creamy with prickly carbonation. Belgian yeast elements prominent during finish.

Overalls, good beer, flavorful, easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2012 05:25:47 | More by JackieTH

MattyG85

Minnesota

3.7/5  rDev +8.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4

Poured from corked 750 ml bottle into a Sam Adams perfect Pint glass. No dating visible.

Appearance: Pours a bright and hazy golden amber orange with lots of rising bubbles. Huge six fingers of off white head with decent retention. Leaves lots of lacing around the glass.

Smell: Sweet caramel malts that are very toasted smelling. Hints of biscuit and crackers. Hops are very grassy and give somewhat of a vegetable like smell. Light hints of citrus orange lingering. Kind of a odd aroma.

Taste: Like the nose, lots of bready and sweet caramel malts giving a cracker and biscuit like taste. Moderate presence of hops that are very grassy and some what spicy in a herbal way. It does have a little of that vegetable taste but it isn't enough to be offensive or undrinkable. Nice balance of hops and bready malts.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a carbonation on the lower side. Creamy and very smooth. Could use some more carbonation.

Overall: An ok take on a pale ale. It needs work on the carbonation and veggie like tastes, but its pretty drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2012 02:23:40 | More by MattyG85

djschnabel

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -11.8%

04-25-2012 00:40:48 | More by djschnabel

fuzzcherry

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -11.8%

04-19-2012 06:36:48 | More by fuzzcherry

FightingEntropy

Minnesota

3.5/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Hazy copper pale ale that has a spicy nose over a musty malt taste. Thin head falls quickly. Overall impression is muddled with some interesting blended flavors. Better than the sample and an excellent beer for the night, but I won't be making a habit of this beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-15-2012 01:54:39 | More by FightingEntropy

syrupjoe

Minnesota

2.5/5  rDev -26.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2.5

750ml into snifter.

Pours a cloudy dark honey color. Two finger cream colored head.

Nose: Burnt popcorn, charcoal, light vegetalness, slight honey. Pretty offensive nose for some reason, can't quite put my finger on it.

Taste: Burnt vegetables (green beans?), honey malt, aspirin bitterness, clean finish with only a slight burnt vegetable taste lingering.

Overall this was kind of a gross beer. The taste wasn't terrible after you got past the initial burst of burnt vegetables, but I almost wanted to stop drinking it for fear of getting sick or something. The first bottle I got of this was totally flat, and this one was pretty offensive. Will keep tabs on these guys in hopes that they improve this beer, but haven't been impressed so far.

Serving type: bottle

03-05-2012 07:38:12 | More by syrupjoe

thagr81us

South Carolina

3.05/5  rDev -10.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Big thanks goes out to MBrausen for sending me this one for the sole purpose of being able to tick it! Served from bottle into a Samuel Smith imperial pint. Poured yellow-orange with a half finger white head that subsided to a minimal amount quickly. It maintained phenomenal lacing throughout the glass. The aroma was comprised of sweet malt, fruit, wheat, and subtle fruity hop. The flavor was of sweet malt, fruit, wheat, subtle bitter hop, and earth. It had a light feel on the palate with mild carbonation. Overall this was a fairly average brew. Nothing on this one really stood out at all to me which was kind of a letdown. There just didn’t seem to be very much going on in this one. This did make it easy to drink, but definitely didn’t help with it being enjoyable. Worth trying if you get the chance, but not the best Pale Ale I’ve had.

Serving type: bottle

02-05-2012 17:18:54 | More by thagr81us

MITCHELLMPLS

Minnesota

3/5  rDev -11.8%

02-03-2012 06:04:56 | More by MITCHELLMPLS

Hopstout

Minnesota

3.88/5  rDev +14.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Appearance - Rusty orange, cider-like

Aroma - Fresh ripe banana bread

Taste - More dry than I expected and lightly hopped. Banana bread aftertaste.

Mouthfeel - Light with a lingering buttery finish.

Overall - Very good beer for the brand new Boom Island brewery. I am excited to try the others and also to see what's next in the coming years.

Serving type: bottle

01-27-2012 01:19:07 | More by Hopstout

ChopperSmith

Minnesota

2.95/5  rDev -13.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

Poured from a large 750 ml bottle into a standard clear pint glass.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy golden color with no foam at all, so no lacing either.

Smell: Malty and slightly sweet with a little light fruit from the yeast. Little or no hops detected. Smells like a Belgian Witbier more than anything else.

Taste: Much like it smells. A decent malt-forward flavor and an interesting yeast gives it a little subtle spice and fruit. But it's missing carbonation really detracts from the flavor. It is almost flat.

Mouth feel: Very little carbonation, pretty much flat and lifeless. Finishes semi-dry on the tongue. A little carbonation (or even SOME carbonation) and crispness would really help this beer.

Overall: Has some decent flavors, but the lack of carbonation really detracts from the overall impression. I have to wonder if this beer was rushed to market before it could fully carbonate. I would like to try one on tap to see the difference.

(Update 1-30-2012: The second bottle of Silvius I opened, bought at the same time as the one opened on 1/15/12, was also flat. Not just low carbonation....flat. I hope they get this problem resolved in the future, because it could be a decent beer with the right carbonation.)

Serving type: bottle

01-14-2012 04:15:39 | More by ChopperSmith

jera1350

Minnesota

2.88/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 1.5 | overall: 2.5

From the bottle and Boom Island Website:

Inspired by a mythical, giant-killing soldier, we're tempted to say this gold medal winning pale ale will slay you with its palate-boggling depth of flavors and surprisingly dry finish. But we're not big on wordplay or swordplay. So we'll just let Silvius speak for itself.

Yet another new brewery to pop up around the Twin Cities. Welcome!

Pours from a cork and caged 750 pretty aggressively, yet only yields a small ring of foam around the outside of the glass. The body is a burnt orange and has a slight haze to it. The beer does produce some fair lacing though.

The nose is a bit light, but has scents of biscuits and bread with some faint nuttiness. A touch of alcohol and some fruit notes as well. Overall, pretty light nose though.

Very bready with some whole grain crackers. A bit nutty with some alcohol coming through also. Very light underlying hop presence. Honestly, not much going on here.

The mouthfeel is nearly completely flat. It's just a smidgen from being a flat 1.0. Not sure if this is supposed to be bottle conditioned or not, but there is a definite carbonation problem. Very dry, but the flatness of it just detracts from the beer as a whole.

This was a disappointment for me. Not sure what awards this has won, but this bottle wouldn't earn any in my opinion. I think if the carbonation issue could be fixed, this beer would be much better overall. I'll have to wait and see others experiences with this one before I consider buying it again.

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 00:32:14 | More by jera1350