Nigel Pride Of Squatney Strong Ale
SingleCut Beersmiths

Nigel Pride Of Squatney Strong AleNigel Pride Of Squatney Strong Ale
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From:
SingleCut Beersmiths
 
New York, United States
Style:
English Strong Ale
ABV:
11%
Score:
89
Avg:
3.98 | pDev: 12.06%
Reviews:
7
Ratings:
21
Status:
Active
Rated:
Nov 04, 2019
Added:
Dec 28, 2014
Wants:
  0
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Ratings by bros:

  None found.

 
Rated: 3.52 by beergorrilla from Michigan

Nov 04, 2019
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.42 by Zaphog from Michigan

Nov 03, 2019
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Reviewed by JerzDevl2000 from New Jersey

4.39/5  rDev +10.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Bought this a while ago up at SingleCut and finally got around to having it on this quiet, overcast day outside with enough time to properly enjoy it. These guys were the first of the new brewers that I fell in love with and although it was their murky IPA's that won me over, beers like served as proof that they were capable of tackling any style that they took on. Indeed, Mastery knew no shortcut as this was completely enjoyable in every aspect from start to finish!

This had a pleasing pour to it as the beer's hue was a ruddy brown with plenty of haze and more than enough head on top of it. Tons of Brett funk, dark fruit, and apple to it as the nuances were apparent from the first whiff. Funky and fruity, there was some wood underneath it as the more odder aspect of this beer came through. Tasted more like an American Wild Ale than an English Strong Ale because of strong the yeast was, but there enough cherry, plum, apple, and pear notes that emerged, which combined with a faint herbal undertone, gave this an English feel!

Of course, this was strong but it never tasted or felt it and given how much was going on, I was impressed with how nicely it went down. Even though the date on the bottle was 12/2/15, this aged beautifully and poured pretty clean, without my sediment left to swirl out. Loved this beer and how unique it was - nice job all around!
Mar 07, 2017
 
Rated: 3.64 by CraftFan5 from New Jersey

Jan 24, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by WillieThreebiers from Connecticut

Jan 01, 2017
Photo of Jugs_McGhee
Reviewed by Jugs_McGhee from Colorado

3/5  rDev -24.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
BOTTLE: 25.4 fl oz format. Brown glass. Unbranded pry-off crown cap. Classily understated label design. Bottled 12/2/15.

11% ABV. "Strong ale." "Aged for one year and then innoculated with numerous Brett sour yeast strains for an additional 9 months of secondary fermentation."

HEAD: Off-white with a nice shining complexion. Retention is good for the high ABV - ~4-6 minutes, leaving no lacing as it recedes.

BODY: Murky dull copper. Not vibrant, but it does have a glow to it. Appears unfiltered.

AROMA: Wine-like tannins. Plum. Tart fruit. Brettanomyces funkiness runs rampant, imbuing this aroma with out-of-control wild yeasts. Somewhere between the sterile stainless steel aged sours that feel over-controlled & not at all spontaneously fermented and infected beers that are a mess with no focus or direction. I'd pick out bacteria in a blind tasting, but apparently this was brettanomyces only so that shows what I know (for what it's worth, I'd have guessed acetobacter). A hint of fennel/aniseed. Maybe some green apple. A musty wild aroma comprised of wild brettanomyces and embattled English malts.

Part of me is bracing for a messy brew, and part of me is wondering why they didn't age this on oak instead of in stainless (economy of production aside).

Aromatic intensity is average. I'm not entirely sure it's devoid of off-notes/faults, but at least it doesn't betray its 11% ABV.

TASTE/TEXTURE: Heavy on tannins and suffering from a tea-like astringency. The English malt core feels unmotivated, lacking any oak/chestnut wood barrel character to complement its biscuity mildly sweet taste. Rampaging wild brettanomyces yeasts lend this both a funky flavour and a scratchy acidic mouthfeel. Wine-like tartness throughout with scintillae of pomegranate seeds and cranberry jam.

Fruity but not very estery, with low carbonation and a thin and weak (bordering on watery) presence on the palate. Scratchy and rough. Not refreshing, but also not boozy. A more robust mouthfeel would be ideal, as would more of a malt backbone.

Balance-wise, this is indeed a mess as feared, and the absence of oak to tie it together renders it further lost. I'm not really clear what the brewers were after with this build; I'd compare it to a badly executed barleywine that got infected during fermentation. There's no real focus and it's anything but a gestalt unified whole of a beer. There are scattered nuances that never come together to amount to anything, but it's not an intricately layered brew and there's no point in even trying to dissect its (lack of) harmony of flavour.

I give it credit for avoiding being warm or boozy at this high an ABV, but all things considered that's probably it's best characteristic.

OVERALL: I always respect experimentation and applaud any brewery trying to make a unique brew. This is a failed experiment, though it does have nice individual constituent notes. The mouthfeel is quite poor any way you approach it, but the wisps of pomegranate, cranberry, and stonefruit are interesting, if lost on the rest of this mess of a build. SingleCut is usually on the mark, but this scatterbrained effort is a swing and a miss. Not worth its price, but I'll get through the bottle without too much trouble. Not a bad beer, not a good beer. I suppose "unique" is the polite euphemism.

If they hadn't announced they were brett-souring (i.e. funking, if you will) this a year in advance on their website, one might be inclined to wonder if it was just a barleywine that got infected and was then marketed as a brettanomyces strong ale. I'd be curious to see what would happen if they steered into the skid, throwing this in oak or chestnut wood with something batshit like gruit or an obscure herb; the result might be a crazy stingo.

High C (3.00) / AVERAGE
Dec 13, 2016
Photo of OrangeMen
Reviewed by OrangeMen from New York

4.24/5  rDev +6.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
2015 vintage
~1 year from bottling date

Appearance- Pours a murky, medium amber brown color, fairly transparent. Thin layer of off-white colored head, fizzy. Lots of spotty head lacing on glass, sticky alcohol legs as well.

Aroma- Zesty tart cherries, sour apple, prunes, raisins, berry fruitiness. Lemon zest, limes, fresh pine, woody, funky wet hay, and tropical fruitiness. Rich malts and sweet sugars.

Taste- Tart fruitiness, cherries, raisins, sour apple. Zesty spices, lemon and lime juice, winter spices, herbs, woody, and piney. Smooth maltiness, sugary sweetness. Slight funk, lots of tropical pineapple and mango.

Feel- Medium bodied, has a zesty and spritzy quality desipte a slightly lower carbonation.

Overall- Incredibly unique beer. Lots of tartness up front supported by a rich maltiness, but there is a pronounced zestiness throughout which gives the beer a very earthy character. Brett funk comes through nicely, more fruity than funky. Really different and well executed.
Dec 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.75 by paulish from New York

Nov 28, 2016
 
Rated: 3.9 by Mikexw from New York

Oct 06, 2016
 
Rated: 4.38 by Jeromedepot from New York

Aug 01, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by tappangordo from New York

Jun 27, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by SpicyHippo73 from New York

Apr 14, 2016
 
Rated: 4 by Skellbop from New York

Mar 10, 2016
 
Rated: 3.5 by suckaj from Florida

Feb 12, 2016
 
Rated: 3.52 by TomMorris from Connecticut

Feb 09, 2016
Photo of dar482
Reviewed by dar482 from New York

3.5/5  rDev -12.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
The aroma offers prune, tart plum, Brett funk, sweet caramel and bready malts.

The beer hits upfront with a hint of booze, a bit of tart cherry, raisins, onto the Brett coming through with a dry finish and dried medicinal herbs and woodiness on the afteraste.
Jan 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.26 by jtk21351 from California

Dec 28, 2015
 
Rated: 4.31 by sd123 from Georgia

Dec 27, 2015
Photo of Greywulfken
Reviewed by Greywulfken from New York

4.5/5  rDev +13.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Amber brown ale with aromas of pine and dark fruit. On the tongue some resin and shellac, a little tacky, and little chalk - hints of prune and plum raisin and fig; medium-weight and lean. Pricks or something tart or citric and something tannic and woodsy. an interesting beer that I thoroughly enjoyed.
Dec 20, 2015
Photo of frankrizzo
Reviewed by frankrizzo from New York

4.85/5  rDev +21.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
I'd put this in the late night sipper class and it is a standout - no booze whatsoever. Fruity sour wonderfulness with a subtle malt complexity. So unusual, like an ould braun mostly. I'd have never believed 11% until I stood up.
Dec 13, 2015
Nigel Pride Of Squatney Strong Ale from SingleCut Beersmiths
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 21 ratings