Poppaskull

A: Solid hazy gold with full and delicate off-white foam. S: Spiced tree fruit. The cardamon's ginger-like aroma in the most prevelant note. T: Spice and yeast come first. Then the malt sweetness kind of piles into the ginger, I'm not liking that. There are some faint yeasty notes, all spice no funk. But finally it finishes dry, I guess from the barrels. Though I don't get any of the oak tastes from the barrels. At the end more fruity (apples, grapes, ?). Thankfully the spice fades out. Not as thick as the sweetness might imply. Good amount of carbonation. Alcohol's there but masked by all the other noise in this brew. D: First in the spirit of full disclosure I am not a spice in beer guy, and only a somewhat Belgian fan. It's a very interesting mix of big flavors and I do like the taste of ginger. Considering the complexity of ingrediants this brews balance is very good. But in the end it strikes me as somewhat gimmicky.

Pours clear but with tons of floating particles. Foam is white and at least an inch in height. Retention and lacing are both under average. Aroma has Belgian yeast, spice: clove, cinnamon. Green apple adds a nice light fruity presence. Spice hops and a definite blast of cardamom, which after some research is in the ginger family. Taste is slightly sweet followed by a collusion with the spice: it isn't that pleasant of a transition. The finish runs into some fruitiness and floral notes that are quite a nice finish to the drink. Medium body with a medium to high carbonation level. In spite of the fruity finish, it dries a bit, probably due to the oak aging. The alcohol is well hidden on this beer. The brandy ageing doesn't really show up much for me either. The rest is a very sweet-spice mix that isn't completely balanced. I really don't know what to think of this beer. At the price, I wouldn't but it again though. Enjoy!