White Birch Cherry Quad
Presentation: 22 oz. bomber bottle poured into a tulip glass at room temperature. Bottle #231 of 237, Batch OLS. Appearance: Murky plum in color. One finger beige head that recedes pretty quickly into nothing. Aroma: Dark fruits, caramel and a touch of cherries in the back. The cherries are pretty subdued here for a cherry quad. A tocuh of herbal, medicinal, bitter that characterizes White Birch yeast. Also a touch of rum soaked fruit there as well. Taste: Dark fruits and caramel are the most dominant flavor, but the bitter, medicinal notes of the yeast are far more prominent here than in the aroma and they are not a good match for the sweet notes of a quad. The cherries are unfortunatley non existent here too. Not unbalanced, but the yest note borders in unpleasant. Mouthfeel: Smooth, full bodied with low carbonation. Drinkability: Even with the 10% ABV (as stated on the bottle), there is not a lot of alcohol burn. The problem here is that the bitter flavors build over time and it doesn't want you leaving more. Overall, an interesting quad but it suffers from a yeast strain that adds bitter flavors instead of complimenting the sweeter notes here. I also really wish there was more of a cherry component here, I think the beer could really benefit with a tart, sweet counterpoint to the overly bitter, metallic yeast taste.