Splinter Gold - Tröegs Brewing Company

ehammond1

California

4.25/5  rDev -3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle (2009)

Acquired via trade
Thanks, MordorMongo!

(Aged for 3+ years)

Not the typical POP! upon opening which has been typical with this beer, if reports do serve correctly. Only a mild "hmph" upon opening, and no gushing here to report.

Hazed dark golden and dark yellow in color with a small near-white head. Leaves the glass lined with stick. Pretty, though unremarkable.

Big notes of Brett funk--apparently this beer has evolved into this Brett monster over the years; it's a good thing I love me some Brett. Huge notes of earth and old, dirty stones (the depths of a well is what I'm picturing in my mind), with some hay and grass, and a bit of lemon, pear, and green apple character. Complex and powerful.

As with the aroma, the flavor is dominated by the delicious, complex, funky, evolving yeast: grass, barnyard, brick, and stones. Along with yeast is some mild lemon and sweet bread, with just a tiny bit of tartness, but this is one funky beer.

Medium in body with moderate carbonation. Perhaps would have been even better with high carbonation.

We want the funk, gotta have that funk, we need the funk, give up the funk!

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 22:33:42 | More by ehammond1

HoppyKilaMonster

Pennsylvania

4.68/5  rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Had a bottle from the Troegs tasting room. 'Batch 2'
Wood hits your pallet pretty strong right off the bat, then wood and sour flavors blend nicely together.
Beer is a deep gold in color, with a little more carbonation then usual for this style.
Hints of sour apple and grape.
Overall a very well put together beer. Very sour, and for being 10.8%, hides the alcohol well.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2013 19:30:14 | More by HoppyKilaMonster

djw21

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +14.2%

05-19-2013 23:47:46 | More by djw21

jbdpsu82

Pennsylvania

4.7/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

Pours very hazy amber color, finger-width head that quickly disappears. Fruity, boozy, carbonated flavor. Mouthfeel of sparkling juice. Goes down easy. Delicious and worth the special trip for a bottle.

Get a hold of this is you can. Excellent sour.
Fan-flipping-tastic! That's a tmesis.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 18:41:45 | More by jbdpsu82

taylor714914

Pennsylvania

4.93/5  rDev +12.6%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

Maybe it was the 3 years of anticipation, but this lived up to everything I had hoped for.

Poured and split at the troegs tasting room 5/18/13
Appearance was a hazy, orangish yellow, reminding me of a darker dreamweaver.
Big fluffy head that dissipated quickly over a few minutes.

Smell was mix of tangy sourness, mild Brett, and white wine.

Taste ranged In flavors of white wine, oak, slight tartness, a bit of hay and barnyard, and a hint of rosemary.

Overall, this was everything I had hoped for and more.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 13:28:56 | More by taylor714914

ShanePB

Pennsylvania

4.6/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

750 ml corked and caged bottle. Consumed at the Troegs Tasting Room.
Batch #2, 10.8% ABV

A: Hazy golden copper colored beer, certainly along the lines of what you'd expect for a barrel aged Tripel base beer. Moderate head which settled out nicely considering the loud pop from the cork. Minor lacing and a decent retention ring around the outside.

S: Funk, sweet pale malt, citrus, bread, lemon, oak and huge chardonnay characteristics. Lots of white wine notes definitely stuck with the beer.

T: Up front the brett has done some nice things to this beer. Classic Tripel-like alcohol notes are here along with some tartness and funk. Sweet bready malts along with citrus. Well balanced, very crisp and dry -- drinks like a nice oaky white wine.

M: Highly active carbonation but it's good for what I like in the style. Dry, woody and bubbly on the palate. Nice mouth feel.

To be honest, this was awesome. The brett worked wonders on this along with perhaps the Westmalle strain they used for bottle conditioning. I'm eager to see how this one develops over time. Well worth your effort to taste.

Serving type: bottle

05-19-2013 03:04:28 | More by ShanePB

nrs207

Pennsylvania

4.6/5  rDev +5%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Drinking out of the bottle in the Troegs Tasting Room

A - Hazy golden color with a nice 1 finger off white head. Retention is great for a 10.8% wild ale.

S - Tons of oak, a good amount of white wine. Nice funkiness from the Brett. Smells nicely tart, but not an extremely sour beer. No trace of alcohol.

T - Goes along with the smell for the most part. I prefer wild ales/gueuzes/etc to be extremely sour, which this is not, but the funkiness and oak tannins with the white wine backing really give it a nice complexity. I'm curious how some age will treat this.

M - Gave it high marks because the alcohol really just isn't present. 10.8% is like nonexistent. Carbonation level is nice for the style. I'd describe it as medium. Medium mouthfeel in terms of body as well. It drinks pretty easily. I could easily down a 750 of this, which I did, but split over 2 bottles over a few hours with a friend.

O - Really good beer. This beer drinks way under the abv, and has a lot of barrel character. Really well done. I'm surprised how small a release this was given the size of the brewery. I'd knock it down because of the limited release size, but if you live close enough I think it'll be available at the tasting room for a bit. Definitely worth the 1:40 drive I made. Best Troegs beer I've had to date for sure.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 22:56:17 | More by nrs207

billyshears

Maryland

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%

05-18-2013 22:21:13 | More by billyshears

bigfnjoe

Pennsylvania

5/5  rDev +14.2%

05-18-2013 21:27:13 | More by bigfnjoe

BMart

Pennsylvania

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%

05-18-2013 18:37:03 | More by BMart

Slatetank

Pennsylvania

4.58/5  rDev +4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I had this at the brewery tasting room split with my wife August in two tulips from the chilled 750.

The color is dark golden with mild haze and thick quick to drop white head with very fine bead. The smell is very wild with some hints of wine barrel odor and light alcohol but mostly brett with some woody esters. The feel is good but is tart up front with some barrel tannin and light sweetness with moderately high carbonation and warming alcohol in the finish.

I like the flavor more than the smell, there is a nice yeastiness with some slight malt adding a sweet taste but generally vinous with some tropical almost pineapple and light white grape flavor alongside the mild brett and belgian yeast which compliments the oak in the taste. I nice tangy hint of grapefruit as it finishes with some alcohol adding a little bite to the finish on top of the carbonation. I enjoyed this a lot considering I never tried one of the original bottling, but found it a little green and the higher than average alcohol listed as 10.8% on the bottle I consumed was apparent near the end of the glass.

Serving type: bottle

05-18-2013 18:17:45 | More by Slatetank

Magery

Kentucky

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%

05-07-2013 19:16:35 | More by Magery

BeerThursdays

Delaware

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%

04-03-2013 02:35:36 | More by BeerThursdays

spycow

Illinois

4.25/5  rDev -3%

03-31-2013 16:56:23 | More by spycow

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev -8.7%

03-04-2013 02:16:03 | More by t0rin0

sulldaddy

Connecticut

4.25/5  rDev -3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Sampling a cellar temp bottle that is a few years old. Thanks to my brother Brian for getting me this as a Christmas present.
The beer pours a cloudy gold color with some tan sediment suspended in the pour. Bleached white head of .5 cm sticks around to a sturdy surface layer.
Aroma is apricots, musty blankets and dry Brett dominance.
First sip reveals an average to lighter body with fine tingly carbonation.

Flavor is briefly sweet fruitiness with citrus notes and apricot but rolls to musty dry notes and some cracked black pepper notes. I also get warm booze on the finish and amazingly dry palate after each swallow.
Very drinkable enjoyable brew. Glad to have had a the chance to consume.

Serving type: bottle

02-04-2013 03:50:04 | More by sulldaddy

ChrisPro

Illinois

3.5/5  rDev -20.1%

01-16-2013 00:14:27 | More by ChrisPro

BdubleEdubleRUN

California

4/5  rDev -8.7%

01-15-2013 20:57:05 | More by BdubleEdubleRUN

BillHilly

Washington

4.25/5  rDev -3%

11-21-2012 00:59:46 | More by BillHilly

CheapBeerBuzz

California

4.5/5  rDev +2.7%

06-18-2012 07:35:01 | More by CheapBeerBuzz

dsgolovin

California

4/5  rDev -8.7%

06-18-2012 04:52:52 | More by dsgolovin

craytonic

District of Columbia

3.5/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

Bottle shared by yourfragile

Appearance: golden peach pour with good head and lacing
Smell: Mostly brett with some oak and very faint funk
Taste: Brett dominates, followed by oak
Mouthfeel: very dry, high carbonation
Overall: Very brett-forward beer, not sour at all though. I didn't find it particularly enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

05-21-2012 19:07:20 | More by craytonic

hoppymcgee

Pennsylvania

4.25/5  rDev -3%

05-01-2012 22:14:35 | More by hoppymcgee

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.48/5  rDev +2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Shared by yourefragile at our sour and wild ale tasting on April 14, 2012. Thanks Michael!

The beer appears hazy and golden yellow colored with a small white head. The aroma is very pleasant, with scents of oak, brettanomyces, funk, citrus. I am a big fan of the flavor. Everything I discovered in the aroma translates beautifully into the flavor profile. Citrus, yeast, oak, funk. Alcohol content is hidden gracefully. Overall, I thought this was fabulous.

Serving type: bottle

04-30-2012 02:22:55 | More by Huhzubendah

mdfb79

New York

4.33/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

From 04/14/12 notes. Big thanks to yourefragile for sharing this one; thanks Michael! Big want of mine.

a - Pours a hazy golden color with one inch of bright white head and moderate carbonation evident.

s - Smells of brett, fruity malts , oranges, citrus hops, and some spice. Nice brett and oranges, I like the nose.

t - Tastes of a ton of oranges and brett, fruity malts, citrus hops, spice, yeast, bready malts, lemon. Taste has even more brett and oranges; just awesome. A step up from the nsoe for me.

m - Medium body and high carbonation. Nice but a little too carbonated, keeping the body from being great.

o - Overall a really nice beer. Wasn't overly sour at all, but had a ton of oranges and brett which I love in a beer. Worth checking out, looking forward to them brewing this one again.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2012 19:24:38 | More by mdfb79