Thanks go out to my 2009 Secret Bunny, mday.
22 oz, screen printed bottle.
Poured into the Duvel tulip, this beer has an appearance that leans more toward the wood than the cherry side of things. Dark and very rich garnet color, perhaps closer to brown, with a head that is only provoked by aggressive swirling. Having done that, the head is quite creamy but still short-lived. Minimal lace but I wasn’t expecting much.
Nose gives up some malt and a touch of tartness but not much else. As it warms, fruit cuts in a little more.
I’d agree with many of the other reviewers here that there is a sweet/sour note with the emphasis on sweet first followed by sour. The dry character of authentic cherries also comes through quite strong. A touch of wood, but it is muted. Finishes with light dry notes but it is NOT aggressive or pronounced.
I like this beer since the wood is reserved and the cherries give a decent amount of sweetness, color and fruitiness without the beer ever getting “sweet” as such. A fine balance is struck across the board, and New Belgium has produced a beer with a very light touch BUT with serious note associated with it. VERY pleased with this beer since it straddles a couple of difficult taste/style combos very well. Not an easy beer to pull off but this does it.