A Home Brewing Taste Test: Belgian Cranberry Chocolate

So here it is. The first of the many, many beer reviews that I'm telling myself I have to post before I even think about reviewing another beer, although I broke that rule when I found out Westbrook Brewing came out with a beer called Mexican Cake. I also broke that rule when I bought three more bottles on Friday, although I'm only going to review two of those.

Anyway, I figured I'd start with the Belgian Cranberry Chocolate beer that I helped brew back in November. It has an official name that I've forgotten. Bearberry Ale? Something along those lines. I think it was bottled sometime near the end of November, so it's been aging for almost two months at this point. It was also the last bottle I had of that beer (sniff, sniff) because someone only gave me 6 when they told me I'd get 11.

I dont have any information on the ABV or anything like that, although I know it's up there. I also dont have pictures of the bottle because it was just a regular brown bottle. (Although I've been informed the label will have a bear with an axe on it, kind of like a coat of arms sort of thing. So just picture that in your head.)

Color: A really dark red, kind of brownish as well. This is beer is really, really carbonated, so it pours with a rather large, white head. There's also some good head retention, as I kept pouring to see if it would stay together or spill over the sides. The beer itself pours clear, but is rather dense in the glass, although its a bit clearer towards the bottom. For the color, think dark cranberry. Think cranberry chocolate bar. Think Christmas time and cranberry and chocolate. There. That's the color.

This is the only picture I have. :(

Aroma: I'm not sure if it's because it aged for a while, but it smells really yeasty, more so than the earlier ones I had. There are some hints of a sour, cranberry smell, but it mostly smells almost like a Belgian. Which is odd, as Belgians are usually paler in color. There's also some alcohol-like smell because, as I mentioned before, it has a high ABV. (Possibly more than 10%, I can't be sure.) Overall, it smells really good.

First Sip: Okay, so this isn't my very first sip, as there were 5 more before this. But it's my first sip of this particular bottle, so it counts. It does taste like it smells in that it's a bit yeasty, but there's also more of a cranberry flavor to balance out the yeast. It's also a little bit sour, and if I remember correctly, this is as a result of the yeast we used. I may be making that up. There's not a whole lot of chocolate flavor, but that's okay. I think it tastes stronger as it ages.

Mouthfeel: This is a strong beer--not only is that strong yeast taste present, you can also tell it's a high alcohol content. More of the sour cranberry flavor comes through here, as well as a little bitterness. There may be a tiny hint of chocolate, or that may be my imagination and me telling myself to concentrate really hard to see if I taste any. It's a pleasant taste, and also a bit dangerous as I could drink a lot of this. Although it's carbonated enough to generate a large head, it's not too harsh on the tongue.

Aftertaste: Hints of sour cranberry and some bitterness, maybe even some chocolate. Sticks around for a while.

So very tasty, yet so very gone.