668 Chardonneighbor Of The Beast - New England Brewing Co.

tehzachatak

Massachusetts

4.41/5  rDev -1.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

500 mL bottle poured into an old 668 tulip. Thanks Roger! Wanted to try this one forever..

A - pours with an immense, 4+ finger white head that nearly spills over the rim of the glass, despite a slow careful pour. looks like 668 - hazy gold. leaves massive amounts of lacing everywhere as it very, very slowly recedes. leaves a huge lump of head on top... haven't seen this with a sour before. very cool. one of the most beautiful heads i've ever seen on a beer.

S - could smell funk even before i poured it... the second i cracked the bottle, got a huge hit of it (and a really loud hiss). green apple.... maybe some lemon, definite Chardonnay (buttery, grapey, oaky). and a TON of oak. definite barnyard funk. a little of some sweetness/fruitness present in the base beer, i'd probably call it grape, but distinct from the Chardonnay.

T - still tastes pretty sweet despite the brett having had more than a year to work. definitely less funk in the flavor than in the nose. slightly tart, with a slight musty funkiness. grainy malt + grape/wine flavors. can taste the alcohol. some oak, but i wouldn't describe it as "buttery" - coconut maybe? maybe "butterscotch". dry and woody on the finish, at least in comparison to the beginning.

M - perfectly and prickly carbonated, which at this point is no longer surprising for a NEBCO BA beer, but i suppose at the time was probably a real worry. thicker than i expected, given how long it's been sitting. leaves a wonderful fullness behind it.

not mindblowing, but pretty damn great! so glad i got to try it.

Serving type: bottle

05-20-2013 00:44:53 | More by tehzachatak

MasterSki

Illinois

4.08/5  rDev -8.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Bottle shared by Todd I think? Served in a Russian River tulip.

A - Big white foam settles to a thin cap, chunky collar, and splotchy lacework. Hazy peach body.

S - Massive white wine and brett notes. Perhaps some phenolic and peppery Belgian yeast in the periphery, and a solid by understated bready malt backbone. This is definitely a wild beer rather than a sour one.

T - Tropical brett mingles with fruity Chardonnay grapes, estery yeast, and bready malts. Not a ton of oak presence here, and this isn't overly vinous or sour.

M- Zesty active carbonation, with a smooth medium body, and shockingly well-hidden alcohol. Far too easy to drink for a 10% beer.

D - For some reason when I see 'American Wild Ale' as the style I expect things to be oaky and sour, and when I get something different I'm initially a bit disappointed. However, upon reflection I've come to see this for what this is, essentially an amped up wine barrel-aged Orval-type beer. Enjoyable stuff.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2012 16:32:32 | More by MasterSki

BeerMeFitz

Illinois

4/5  rDev -10.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Went to New Eng brewery and met the crew. What a great bunch of cats...they gave us this bottle to take hoime and share in Chicago...Cheer!

Poured from a bottle into a tulip glass

A) Nice golden color, head quickly leaves.

S) Right off the start the Chardonnay really pops in your face followed by peppery goodness

T) I agree "the phenols have muted and what you have is a nice wine forward taste". There is a lot of oak and vanilla with a hint of pepper at he end.

M) Very nice ...seems just right

O) I agree with the other reviews that this is the best beer they ever made

Serving type: bottle

12-19-2012 02:10:42 | More by BeerMeFitz

ericlawton007

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Thanks to me friend Brian for sharing this with me. One of three hundred bottles, pours with a good amount of head and lots of tasty sediment. Brett is very dominating in the aroma, perfectly mild in the taste. The Chardonnay barrel is present, but not overly so. I did not think I would be able to pick up on the original 668 given to the addtion of brett, but after having a can of regular 668 afterwards, I was suprised to recognize the similar characteristics. Awesome brew, and i hope they do this again.

Serving type: bottle

08-23-2012 01:51:17 | More by ericlawton007

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

4.4/5  rDev -1.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Poured into a RR tion glass

Hazy golden color with a huge head. Settled into a healthy layer with massive, thick lacing.

Smell is damp basement and overripe fruit.

It's really hard to describe the initial taste. I'm picking up some spice, almost peppery along with the usualy funk. The 'sour' isn't overwhelming, this isn't the kind of beer that makes my face contort, but it is a sour, make no mistake. The swallow leaves a warm spot on the back of my throat, it is 10% after all.

Mouthfeel is much thicker than most wilds. It really coats the mouth and leaves you wanting more.

This is really enjoyable. I would definately seek this out again.

Serving type: bottle

07-31-2012 00:08:39 | More by DaveHack

sulldaddy

Connecticut

4.43/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

Sampling a cellar temp bottle poured into a tulip snifter. the cap pops open and would have gushed a little if I wasnt paying attention. Poured into my glass the beer is a hazy copper to gold hue with several large sediment chunks riding the waterfall into my glass.
A large billowy bleached white head foams up 4 cm and fades very slowly leaving mostly tightly packed lattice on my glass. The head in my glass is receding very slowly yet is still slowly rising to the mouth of the bottle. Occasional additional pours are necessary to keep up with the rising foam.
Aroma is funky, musty blanket, some spicy notes and a bit of dry oak are prevalent. I also get a bit of slightly sweet fruitiness, grapes maybe?
First sip reveals an average body with tingly yet not overpowering carbonation. Texture is smooth and makes the beer easy to drink.
Flavor is some grainy and biscuit malt that moves quickly to some white grape fruitiness and funky musty notes from the Brett. Maybe a bit of oak on the finish but also a bit of bitterness possibly from booze? Otherwise no heat to indicate that this is a high ABV brew.
Finish is very dry and makes me thirsty for the next sip.
Very complex and tasty brew that sneaks up on me by the end of the bottle. Good funky beer that isnt just a mashup of flavors, definitely has start, middle, finish stages.
Quite nice brew from guys at NEBCO!

Serving type: bottle

06-24-2012 05:28:19 | More by sulldaddy

tobelerone

New Jersey

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Great beer, thanks Knifestyles! Hazy, deep orange colored body with a huge fluffy white head. Retention and lace are both excellent. Nose is packed with oaky chardonnay notes as well as yeasty spice esters and some light fruitiness. Some musty brett aromas. Hints of booze.

If you like Chardonnay this is the beer for you; it’s very much a hybrid that falls between the worlds of wine and beer; tremendous oaky, vinous white grape presence on top of a slightly sweet Belgian style yeast and candi sugared beer; tart and funky, fruity with grape, green apple, and apricots, and some nice brett making an appearance and lending a bit of mustiness and hay/horse blanket characteristics.

Crisp body with lively carbonation that seems just about perfect for this style; medium bodied, refreshing, but hits you hard at this ABV. Fascinating to try side by side with the standard 668 as well. You taste the base beer underneath but this is dominated by wine and oak characteristics. Really enjoyed this one.

Serving type: bottle

06-04-2012 16:24:00 | More by tobelerone

marcdalke

Connecticut

4.63/5  rDev +3.3%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This beer just looks sexy. A great white, lacy head that sticks around as long as the beer is in the glass. It's a nice butterscotch color with a little yeast cloudiness.
The smell is oak, sweetness of the Belgian variety, maybe even a little cinnamon or nutmeg?
The taste is incredible. I feel privileged to have scored a bottle of this on a Final Friday a while ago! The barrel really shines through. The Chardonnay adds a serious complexity to an already outstanding base beer. The carbonation is right on. There is a slight funkiness that makes my taste buds beg for more.
The only question that I am left asking: why in the world did I only buy one bottle?!?!

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2012 22:52:03 | More by marcdalke

woosterbill

Connecticut

4.73/5  rDev +5.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

500ml bottle, one of only 300, into a tulip. Huge thanks to the brewer (Matt) for sharing this with me at the brewery.

A: Pretty clear orange-gold body crowned by two inches of superfine, creamy white head. Good retention, great lace. Excellent, particularly for a barrel-aged beer.

S: Tart Brett, vanilla + butterscotch oak, chardonnay, and some spiciness from the base 668. The Brett provides some floral and light barnyard funk. Excellent.

T: Wow. As good as the smell was, it tastes even better. The Brett complexity comes through nicely, but the barrel is the absolute star. Simply gigantic and amazing oak - vanilla, butter, coconut, grapes, and tropical fruit. Dry woodiness on the finish, which is welcome after the huge buttery chardonnay from earlier. One of the best-tasting barrel-aged beers I've ever had.

M: Light-to-medium body, plenty of fine, creamy, lively effervescence. Soft and great. Congrats to NEBCO for finally nailing the carbonation on a BA beer!

O: I can hardly describe how much I loved this beer. Matt and Rob both admitted that they thought it might be the best beer they've ever made, and I would put only the 2011 cask of Coffee-Infused IST ahead of it. It's hands-down their best barrel-aged offering, and probably the best wine-barrel beer I've ever had. If you get the chance to try it, do.

Cheers!

Serving type: bottle

04-05-2012 15:12:53 | More by woosterbill

modernartblues

Connecticut

4.83/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Poured into a new COAST Tulip

A: cloudy, burnt orange body, 1" white head, cap sticks around, tons of lacing, decent amount of bubbles promising good carbonation

N: funky, green apple, lemon,clove, touch of citrus, brett is big, but still 668 like

T: blow away good and complex, 668 with banana and clove hits first, then the oak, then a touch of butteryness from the chardonnay, tartness from brett on the finish, this is really good, really hits in layers and shows off in its complexity

M: good, similar to 668 in that its incredibly smooth and the 9% sneaks up on you

O: an AWESOME beer from Nebco, their second sour and its a homerun, complex and funky, I hope they bottle this one again

Serving type: bottle

04-01-2012 00:32:38 | More by modernartblues

jimmy82063

Connecticut

4.48/5  rDev 0%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Been waiting for this...all hail the Goat Lord!

A) Pour reveals a nice golden hue, head quickly dissipates.

S) Probably one of the best I have had relative to the smell. Chardonnay really pops.

T) Not at all like the base beer, the phenols have muted and what you have is a nice wine forward taste. There is a lot of oak and vanilla with just a nice finish of pepper.

M) Very tart...I like!

O) I agree with the first reviewer...their best beer!

Serving type: bottle

03-31-2012 20:25:03 | More by jimmy82063

davey101

Connecticut

4.5/5  rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

"Our infamous 668 Belgian Strong Golden Ale was aged in Chardonnay barrels with a touch of Brettanomyces to bring you this limited run bottle. Goat Lord Approved!" One of only three hundred bottles.

500 ml bottle into a tulip glass at 45 degrees.

A - Dark amber opaque body with a massive fluffy white head that sticks around for a long time. Giving the glass a swirl creates clumps of thick suds and generates another massive head. Great level of lacing and retention. Looks very similar to the standard 668 but with much better head retention. Bottom the bottle shows a layer of sediment/yeast.

S - Starts off with some standard BSPA notes. Biscuity malts, earthy grass, lemons and a nice spicy Belgian yeast. This leads into a pleasant brett funk with a fantastic oak barrel finish. Some grape and wine elements are present. The finish is spicy and floral.

T - Biscuity malts, some lemon grass and coriander, and a funky brett finish. There is some subtle apricot and peach notes as well as sour green grapes. The finish is slightly oaky and smooth. This has a great balance between sweet fruit and spicy earthiness. Super complex yet restrained. This is a delicious beer with several layers that is also quite quaffable. The alcohol does make a bit of an appearance as it warms up but it doesn't really interfere. Not sure what the alcohol level is but with the standard beer being 9% I would imagine this is just a hair higher.

M - Super creamy and smooth. Medium bodied with the perfect level of carbonation. Bottle conditioning does wonders on this beer.

O - The best beer NEBCO has made thus far IMO. 668 is a fantastic Belgian pale ale to start with. Aging it in Chardonnay barrels for almost a year and adding some brett has turned it into an absolutely amazing wild ale. Only 300 bottles were produced and its a brewery only release at $10 a bottle. If you have a chance to try it I highly recommend it.

Serving type: bottle

03-29-2012 19:33:34 | More by davey101