We’ve got our home on the market, and we had an open house this morning. This afternoon has been pretty relaxing, catching up on several beer reviews. After editing a few, I had a craving for one. So as I sit here during halftime of the Mizzou basketball game, I went out to the garage to grab a beer. I forgot to mention that the beer fridge is now gone, in storage while we move. So, all the beer is boxed up in the cold garage and beers like this one were uncovered from the back of the fridge. I think I picked up this beer a couple years ago when my family and I went to the Wisconsin Dells on a weekend trip and stopped at the brewery on the way home.

Location: Poured into a snifter glass at my home in Bloomington, IL.

Numbers: 6.5% ABV, ~200 Calories

Appearance & Aroma: It’s a very dark brown color, and has some dark ruby highlights when held up to the light. There is a very thin, creamy head at the top, with a good amount of carbonation in it. The aroma is a bold sweet, milk chocolate covered tart cherry smell that almost smells artificial.

Taste & Feel: The body is light and the mouthfeel is very smooth with a little bit of carbonation tingle. The flavor up front is a lightly sweet chocolate and cherry flavor, which becomes quite a bit more tart in the middle. The tartness grows even more, peaking in the finish, with some milk chocolate flavors in the background. It tastes just like a cherry cordial with a bit more tartness. The tart cherry flavors last for a little bit in the aftertaste.

Food Pairing: This beer is almost like a dessert in itself, tasting almost like a chocolate covered cherry, with a bit more tartness. I think it would be a good pairing with almost any type of chocolate dessert – brownies, cake, etc. For an entree, it might make a good pairing for BBQ with a dark sauce on it.

Overall Impression: This is more like a liquid dessert than a beer, with a lot of sweet, tart cherry, backed up by some milk chocolate flavors. As I mentioned, it reminded me quite a bit of those chocolate covered cherries you see at Christmas and Valentines day, except the cherry flavor was more bold and tart. Much like the New Glarus Raspberry Tart, I enjoyed the bold, tart flavors, but wouldn’t necessarily consider it to be too beer-like. Overall, I enjoyed it and think it’s something my wife might enjoy trying as well.

My Rating:

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