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[BANISHED] Better Off Red
Crux Fermentation Project
- From:
- Crux Fermentation Project
- Oregon, United States
- Style:
- Flanders Red Ale
Ranked #44 - ABV:
- 7%
- Score:
- 88
Ranked #14,684 - Avg:
- 3.92 | pDev: 9.44%
- Reviews:
- 15
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Feb 11, 2024
- Added:
- Apr 30, 2014
- Wants:
- 2
- Gots:
- 17
Flanders Reds may be called the Burgundies of Belgium, but we age our take on this complex, slightly tart style in Oregon pinot noir barrels for more than 18 months. A fresh batch will batch will present spicier notes, while older versions pick up more oak and yield cherry flavors. So we blended old and new, figuring we're better off presenting this exotic mélange simultaneously.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by ckeegan04:
Rated by ckeegan04 from Texas
3.5/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Nov 04, 2015
3.5/5 rDev -10.7%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
Nov 04, 2015
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by NiceTaps from New Jersey
4.16/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.16/5 rDev +6.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
12 ounce bottle in a stemmed tulip glass. Bottled on 8/21/2016. I purchased it in VT in 2018 and opened it today, 2/11/2024. Here goes…
It’s red in color with a brown tone. Aged in Pinot Noir barrels so the look fits. A foamy pour brings a 1F cap, light brown sugar color, quick drop. Thick rim, sea foam lacing.
Complex aroma. Dark fruit and earthy spice from a Belgian style ale. Oak barrel and dark cherry red wine notes. Sour fermentation.
Woody, cherry, sour flower, and I’m getting some tart lemon flavor, too.
The malt is in the feel which makes it a medium bodied beer ahead of a sour wine style brew. It’s tart yet smooth.
The oak and fresh mix balances out the fungi, possibly. No matter, I liked it.
Feb 11, 2024It’s red in color with a brown tone. Aged in Pinot Noir barrels so the look fits. A foamy pour brings a 1F cap, light brown sugar color, quick drop. Thick rim, sea foam lacing.
Complex aroma. Dark fruit and earthy spice from a Belgian style ale. Oak barrel and dark cherry red wine notes. Sour fermentation.
Woody, cherry, sour flower, and I’m getting some tart lemon flavor, too.
The malt is in the feel which makes it a medium bodied beer ahead of a sour wine style brew. It’s tart yet smooth.
The oak and fresh mix balances out the fungi, possibly. No matter, I liked it.
Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada
3.46/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
3.46/5 rDev -11.7%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.5
Another beer from March Madness 2018. Tough to recall who brought this, nobody from Oregon was there, but a few cats from CA & WA.
Anyhoo, pours the usual caramel brown. Pretty thin beige head, not a lot of bubbles. Has the aroma of dark cherry, red grape, oak, brown malt.
Neither the taste nor the aroma had that acetic acid vinegar thing going for it like a lot of flanders do. This was cleaner even though there was a damp wood and leather feel to it throughout. Lasting impression of dark fruit to it moreso than most flanders. Doesn't quite have that quad like dark fruit bitterness so much though. Tastes stronger than most too. Middle of the road malt body. Light brett influence on the back end giving a slightly thinner finish to the body, like a small amount of black currant was used.
When looking back at the final photo lineup that week, this one finished just behind the middle spot. 65th median kind of placement that week.
Oct 22, 2020Anyhoo, pours the usual caramel brown. Pretty thin beige head, not a lot of bubbles. Has the aroma of dark cherry, red grape, oak, brown malt.
Neither the taste nor the aroma had that acetic acid vinegar thing going for it like a lot of flanders do. This was cleaner even though there was a damp wood and leather feel to it throughout. Lasting impression of dark fruit to it moreso than most flanders. Doesn't quite have that quad like dark fruit bitterness so much though. Tastes stronger than most too. Middle of the road malt body. Light brett influence on the back end giving a slightly thinner finish to the body, like a small amount of black currant was used.
When looking back at the final photo lineup that week, this one finished just behind the middle spot. 65th median kind of placement that week.
Reviewed by elNopalero from Michigan
4.78/5 rDev +21.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
4.78/5 rDev +21.9%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Bottled 6/17/2915, enjoyed December 2019.
Capped and corked. Opens silently, with no hissing or erupting. That’s encouraging, given some of my previous experiences.
Slow pour, as there’s a lot of foaming atop the golden auburn goodness filling my glass.
Some light Flanders red funk, all tart cherries and wet straw lingering around the nose, marched by the palate. It’s sharp and crisp and tartly sour and boldly effervescent and utterly delicious.
Jun 27, 2020Capped and corked. Opens silently, with no hissing or erupting. That’s encouraging, given some of my previous experiences.
Slow pour, as there’s a lot of foaming atop the golden auburn goodness filling my glass.
Some light Flanders red funk, all tart cherries and wet straw lingering around the nose, marched by the palate. It’s sharp and crisp and tartly sour and boldly effervescent and utterly delicious.
Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado
4.29/5 rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
4.29/5 rDev +9.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
a neat blended flanders red type, a bottle i have been saving for awhile now, 2015 edition, wax, cap, and cork. the cork totally breaks apart and dissolves as we try to pull it out, then the beer gushes slowly out all over the counter, a real hot mess of a pile of cork bits, fizzy beer, and red wax, but the juice was worth the squeeze, a really nice example of the style here, super funky, tart, and mature, and more interesting and complex than most of these! real nice head on this once the foaming settles down, fruit vinegar, red wine, pie cherries, golden raisins, red currants, and even raspberries are in the aroma, its piquant, medicinally funky, super wood forward, and about as evolved as can be, more unique fermentation profile than other wild beers ive had from these guys and in this banished series, must be a product of its age. the flavor is somewhat less malty than these usually are, at least in the conventional sense, its lighter in texture, not sweet at all, and without the heavy toasted and caramelized characteristics. tons of fruitiness to this, cherry first, generic red berries and port wine, some light brown sugar, sharp citric acidity, and some well developed almost lambic funk to it, wrapped in wood, almost a soggy boggy thing to it, dusty, some iodine, really neat fermentation profile. effervescent even after the gushing, lighter body for the style, curiously fast finishing. just a really awesome beer, i love the idea of it being a blend of old and young beer in this style, and really think its one of the best crux beers ive ever had, which is really saying a lot. i wish i did a better job with the cork, but other than that this was an awesome drinking experience! well worth ageing awhile if you are lucky enough to have a bottle!
Dec 30, 2019Reviewed by Czequershuus from Minnesota
3.59/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.59/5 rDev -8.4%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
This beer pours a sunset orange-red with a smallish head. The aroma has a dankness, and a tire rubber quality, with tart cherry, graham, cracker, dried blueberry, and coconut oil. The flavor is quite sour with notes of red and dark cherries, freeze dried raspberry, dried blueberry, mild vinegar, and mild farmyard qualities. The mouthfeel is medium bodied with abundant carbonation. Overall a very nice sour with good complexity, but maybe a touch muddled in the middle.
Jan 22, 2018Reviewed by Lone_Freighter from Vermont
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a semi-hazy burnt off orange to amber color with a slight finger's worth of white foamy head that slid off at a moderate pace. Just a concave little film of lace ran around the glass.
The aroma steered into a blend of sour to vinous cherry skin to sweet and tart wood barrel to earthy character. Crushed sweet spice and a little bit of grassiness conglomerate for a well settled sort of feel.
The flavor presented towards the sour edge throughout pulling the cherry flesh and skin in tighter and further away from it's sweet character. Wood, sweet spice and some grassiness with a light pressed green apple tartness enshrines the overall taste and followed through in the aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a nice smooth sour dryness scuttling over my tongue - no harsh grip, but not slippery, just nice all around mobility along my tongue. Carbonation felt good for a 2016 bottle (somewhat surprised it held, was it the wax seal - I'm guessing?). ABV felt as projected by the brewer. Nicely blended wood sour dry with a touch of vinous character in the finish.
Overall, really nice Flanders red ale. Would love to have again.
Oct 07, 2017The appearance was a semi-hazy burnt off orange to amber color with a slight finger's worth of white foamy head that slid off at a moderate pace. Just a concave little film of lace ran around the glass.
The aroma steered into a blend of sour to vinous cherry skin to sweet and tart wood barrel to earthy character. Crushed sweet spice and a little bit of grassiness conglomerate for a well settled sort of feel.
The flavor presented towards the sour edge throughout pulling the cherry flesh and skin in tighter and further away from it's sweet character. Wood, sweet spice and some grassiness with a light pressed green apple tartness enshrines the overall taste and followed through in the aftertaste.
The mouthfeel was about medium bodied with a nice smooth sour dryness scuttling over my tongue - no harsh grip, but not slippery, just nice all around mobility along my tongue. Carbonation felt good for a 2016 bottle (somewhat surprised it held, was it the wax seal - I'm guessing?). ABV felt as projected by the brewer. Nicely blended wood sour dry with a touch of vinous character in the finish.
Overall, really nice Flanders red ale. Would love to have again.
Reviewed by VABA from Virginia
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4/5 rDev +2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A- A reddish amber hue with a little head and no lacing.
S- A mild brett and oak hint.
T- The taste follows the smell, with hints of brett and oak.
M- Medium bodied crispy and smooth with decent carbonation.
O- Dry with a good balance of carbonation, good beer.
Oct 01, 2017S- A mild brett and oak hint.
T- The taste follows the smell, with hints of brett and oak.
M- Medium bodied crispy and smooth with decent carbonation.
O- Dry with a good balance of carbonation, good beer.
Rated by Keepnitrl from Washington
3.4/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
3.4/5 rDev -13.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.25
Definitely get a gentle hint of oak, but there appears to be an imbalance with the flavors.
Sep 16, 2017Rated by vfgccp from New York
3.61/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
3.61/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
SAVOR D.C. 2017
Jul 23, 2017
[BANISHED] Better Off Red from Crux Fermentation Project
Beer rating:
88 out of
100 with
70 ratings
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