beer_name: La Folie
text: 7/9/2011 22 ounce bottle labeled 2011 poured into a Lost Abbey tulip. A: First impression was this pours a very dark brown, almost plum color, but the color is deceiving, as its more a red/brown, almost light mahogany. Great carbonation is apparent off the bat with a nice frothy 2 finger brownish white head. Head quickly fades to about a cm, with next to no lacing left on the glass. S: Lightly fruity and sour, slight oaky aroma, but more funky. Fruits smell of cherries and cranberries. Sugar and light booze, with a faint nose of wild yeast coming through past the tartness. T: Nice upfront sourness, quickly fading to a light sweet finish. The flavor of the beer almost falls flat at first, and has little development past the initial burst of tartness. The oaky barrel flavor is upfront with the sourness as you get a bit into the beer. The sweetness comes out in fruit flavors such as tart cherries and cranberries; definite cranberry on the finish. Sugar is also coming through from the barrel aging. Not lingering really, but the flavors are nice. M: Full bodied and moderately carbonated, with a very light syrupy feel. Its also fairly balanced. Although the booze at 6% ABV is only slightly apparent on the aftertaste, its very slow sipping. O: I was expecting great things from this beer from past memories, but its just not in the same league as Le Terroir. Its still a decent beer, but disappointing when compared with the previous years. Labeling on the bottle touts this beer as aged in French Oak barrels for mouth puckering perfection - not in my opinion though.