I searched for a thread about this one, but all I found were a couple of pleas for a clone. I'm sipping my first one, and I can't find a reason EVER to clone it!
I like New Belgium, I like most of their beer, and the 1554 looked interesting, so I bought a sixer. I feel like I wasted $7. After a good sniff and about a quarter pint, I looked it up on Beer Advocate to see what others had to say. Surprisingly, it got pretty decent reviews. I'm hoping I got a bad batch - here's what I'm getting out of it:
Appearance: Rich and dark. Brown with just a hint of red when held up to the light. Thick head that dissipates quickly. Promising.
Smell: Utterly wretched. Yeasty, but not in a good way. Like old, bad bread. No hops. Maybe a hint of caramel and/or roasted undertones, but overpowered by the vile yeast odor.
Taste: Like it smells. If the overpowering yeast notes were gone, it might be sweet and palatable. Roasted barley and chocolate up front, sickening old, wet bread on the finish. Yuck.
Mouthfeel: A bit overcarbonated, but that's to be expected of a bottled beer. Acceptable if the taste and smell were pleasant.
Drinkability: I'm not sure I can bring myself to open another bottle. I will out of curiosity, but I won't be buying this again unless someone can assure me that I got a bad batch. EDIT: After an hour and more (different) beer, I still have that disgusting, yeasty aftertaste lingering in my mouth. It's actually making me feel a little nauseous.
Obviously other people like this beer. Anyone else have a similar experience with it? Anyone care to sway my opinion or convince me to buy another six pack someday?
I like New Belgium, I like most of their beer, and the 1554 looked interesting, so I bought a sixer. I feel like I wasted $7. After a good sniff and about a quarter pint, I looked it up on Beer Advocate to see what others had to say. Surprisingly, it got pretty decent reviews. I'm hoping I got a bad batch - here's what I'm getting out of it:
Appearance: Rich and dark. Brown with just a hint of red when held up to the light. Thick head that dissipates quickly. Promising.
Smell: Utterly wretched. Yeasty, but not in a good way. Like old, bad bread. No hops. Maybe a hint of caramel and/or roasted undertones, but overpowered by the vile yeast odor.
Taste: Like it smells. If the overpowering yeast notes were gone, it might be sweet and palatable. Roasted barley and chocolate up front, sickening old, wet bread on the finish. Yuck.
Mouthfeel: A bit overcarbonated, but that's to be expected of a bottled beer. Acceptable if the taste and smell were pleasant.
Drinkability: I'm not sure I can bring myself to open another bottle. I will out of curiosity, but I won't be buying this again unless someone can assure me that I got a bad batch. EDIT: After an hour and more (different) beer, I still have that disgusting, yeasty aftertaste lingering in my mouth. It's actually making me feel a little nauseous.
Obviously other people like this beer. Anyone else have a similar experience with it? Anyone care to sway my opinion or convince me to buy another six pack someday?