New Holland Moxie Sour Ale

Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 6 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 6

Bottle 173/424; Sampled December 2007
Pours with a frothy, initially three-finger thick, amber tinged, tan colored head that sits on top of a dark, concentrated amber colored beer that shows a somewhat hazy, dark cranberry red color when held up to the light. As I pour a lightly moldy, almost blue cheese mold, aroma lightly touches my nose. Upon closer inspection the beer smells quite sweet and fruity; it has a mix of cherry, raisin, tamarind and oxidized malt aromas to it. Lightly tart smelling, with on oak-like aroma reminiscent of vanillin, a touch of butterscotch and some spicy oak character that combines with a touch of alcohol to give this a bit of warming. There is definitely quite a bit of oak character here (it is inescapable once I place it) and it even adds a sort of nutty, almond essence like character and a touch of coconut to the aroma. An interesting aroma, though it is a bit too oak dominated for my nose.

Fairly dry tasting, but it has quite a bit more fullness to it than the dryness would suggest. Oak tannins seem to contributed to the soft creamy mouthfeel that this beer has. The oak definitely plays the leading role in the flavor as well with notes of vanillin, and butter-like oak flavors as well as the velvety textured tannins / wood extracts mentioned earlier. This is definitely tart, though not overly so; a light sourness picks up towards the end of each sip. It is hard to really get at the sour / funky flavors of this brew, the oak flavors are just a bit too dominating. Still even with that, it seems that this beer does not have nearly as much character / funk / sourness as one would expect in a good example of this style. At times the oak character seems to contribute bourbon like notes (that characteristic mix of vanillin, spice and butterscotch). At the front of each sip, before the oak really kicks in, notes of tamarind, leathery cherry and an unsweetened raisin flavor.

This is really an interesting beer, I would have love to have had the one without the oak character. I would have liked to have experienced the actual funk that was in the brew, without the overwhelming oak. As is, this seems like a surprisingly bland, dark, sour ale (at the least I would expect a lot more funkiness and an ample malt depth / complexity). Truthfully the oak here is not at outlandish levels, it is a bit too much for this particular brew, but as an example of oak extract this one is fairly drinkable.

Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 6 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 7

Amber colour, mediumsized off-white head. Aroma is sour fruits and some malts and fruity hops. Flavour is sour fruits, grass, caramel and some bittery hops. Very sour aftertaste.