Voodoo Gran Met

My, how time flies. Already closing in on Thanksgiving and the light at the end of the fall semester. I sat down this evening and cracked open the fifth bottle of my Voodoo sampler pack: Gran Met, a Belgian style ale that, to me, floats out there between a tripel and a strong ale. So far, all of Matt Allyn's beers from Voodoo are technically superb. There aren't any flaws, or what I'd consider flaws (what the hell do I know, though) but the recipes all throw some sort of curve at your palate. It's refreshing, really, and you never quite know what to expect. But, it leaves many of us beer geeks a bit befuddled, even dazed (maybe that's just the high ABV), as we try to wrap our taste buds around the mix of elements that don't always get paired quite so readily as Matt has done.

Bottled. Has a sweet, clean aroma. Light honey, tripel estery profile, and mild alcohol notes. Sweet with a bit of muskiness, like a melon rind that's not quite ripe. Alcoholic notes get more and more pervasive as it warms, reminding me a bit of a European strong. Just a bit of butterscotch, but not to a fault. Light and fruity, with a hint of mild hops. Golden amber clear, with a thin white lacing head. Medium bodied, deceptively light for the amount of alcohol but probably because of the beet sugar. Medium to high effervescence, with a bit of prickly carbonic tang; could be a little smoother, but this might be helped by a little aging. Starts sweet, with honey, orange blossom, sugary sweetness and a mild hint of peppercorn. Honey Crisp cereal notes in the finish, light spicy character like teaberry gum. Bitterness is really secondary, lending more of a dry finish to the sweet malt and alcoholic notes. Alcohol warming, with a muted dry-grainy after. A little rough around the edges, and will probably improve (hopefully) with a bit of age. A decent offering and technically solid, but not as complex as I would have imagined.

Ground Pepper, Sir?

Last night I cracked open a bomber of Voodoo White Magick of the Sun - a Belgian wit brewed with tons of spices (including 12 types of peppercorns) and fermented with a house Belgian tripel yeast. Odd conglomeration of elements, but a fairly decent brew.

Without a doubt, the most peppery beer I've tried to date. It was in the nose, and it was on the tongue. In fact, when pouring the dregs, the yeast was black-ish from the pepper. Interesting.

I can see how many will miss the more subtle notes of this beer; very delicate. As it warms up a bit, sitting in a snifter, the aromas blossom a bit more. First, there is the pepper. Undoubtedly, the strongest pepper/peppercorn aroma I’ve ever encountered. The juniper berries come next, with the sweet gin tang. A bit of orange blossom and light coriander, though not a lot. Definitely a delicate nose and easy to miss. Mild tripel sweetness and light honey. Pours with a pale dull copper-amber, hazy, with non-descript off-white head. Very little lacing. Medium watery body with medium carbonation, thin but also quenching. Starts with medium tripel-wit sweetness, wheaty yet with a chalky yeastiness. Peppercorns and sweet orange essence attack next. A spicy beer, for sure, but not overbearing. Mild watery gin taste, light coriander. Overall, a bit watery with carbonic tang. Fruity juniper and pepper finish, with light chalky tripel-yeast-sweet after. I like this, but could use a bit more body to it.

Voodoo 4 Seasons

What better way to start the weekend than with a tasty beer...
I cracked open Voodoo's 4 Seasons IPA before my wife and I headed to dinner with some friends. Apparently, a different recipe will be used for each of the four seasons, but as this was just released (and considering the delays experienced by Voodoo) right near the beginning of Fall, I'm not sure to what season this belongs.

From bomber. A candy sweet nose, bursting with malty richness, caramel and biscuit. The hop presence is definite, but for me the exact identity slips through my grasp - I have no idea what varietals exist in this batch. There is more floral than fruity notes in this one, with a bit of spicyness and what I associate with ozone; nothing as offensive as burnt rubber or electrical discharge, but a mild tang that permeates through the sweet nose. The beer pours with little foam production, as if it were viscous beyond splashing. The body is a coppery-amber clear, with an off-white foamy, thin lacing head. As for mouthfeel, this is a heavy watery body, not quite viscous as a barley wine but darned close. The carbonation is fairly mild throughout. The %abv is not listed, but there is no alcohol warming or vaporous contribution here, so most likely it's around 6-7%, if not lower. If it's higher, you won't know it! At first sip, you get hit by some medium sweetness; notes of caramel, sugar, and mild raw malt. The sweet character is almost immediately tempered by a good wallop of hoppy bitterness; dry and a bit spicy. Apple esters, chalky bitter resin, and light grassy notes. The finish is bitter, but not harsh, with a lasting sweet biscuit component under the hoppy bitter coating on the tongue. Overall, a really nice IPA with good balance. I look forward to the other three seasons.

Mojo in a Bottle - Voodoo's In Town

As I write this, I'm just finishing up a bomber of Voodoo Love Child; the first of six varieties from Matt Allyn's Voodoo Brewery in Meadville. Well, I should say, the first of six in the variety case that I bought this evening from Duquesne Beer Distributor (who gets their stuff from Vecenie).

Dave, Jon, Eli, and I ordered up two of the sampler cases (12 22oz bombers) and split them so that we each got one. This included: Voodoo Love Child, Grand Met, White Magick of the Sun, 4 Seasons IPA, Pilzilla, and Wynona's Big Brown Ale. With cost & tax in our little hamlet, it works out to $6.25 per bottle; not outrageous, but not the cheapest in the region.

Regardless, we've been hearing about Voodoo for a while now; via Bryson's site and Pittsburgh papers. Well, after having the Voodoo Love Child, I'm happy with the wait. I think for most of these beers, I may have to split another sampler pack or simply buy a whole case of each over time and set them in a cellar for a while. Love Child is still hot, but might be able to survive several years like a lambic and settle down a bit.

I got a bit wordy in my review, but here goes:

From bomber. Fruity vaporous aroma, with mild alcohol. Kirschwasser, cherry skins and fruity esters. Light tripel aroma with mild yeasty notes. Fruity and sweet, rich in smell. Each sniff gets you a little something different. Golden orange-pink-amber cloudy body. Starts initially with a pillowy white head, that dissipates to a thin veneer with a bit of lacing. The carbonation is fairly robust starting out, then smooths a bit as it sits. The beer itself is rather light bodied despite the flavors, no doubt helped along by the 9.5% alcohol. There is prominent warming from the start, and this would make an excellent after dinner or dessert beer on crisp Fall evenings. It starts with a subtle hit of fruit, with a dry carbonic tang that tapers off to give resonant notes of over-ripe cherries, raspberry must, and what must be passion fruit (not really familiar with the fruit itself). Alcohol and a fruity dry tartness that’s reminiscent of a Riesling, actually. The hops are subtle in flavor, but provide a lifting bitterness in the finish which helps subdue the tart fruity character. This is not an overly sweet beer, despite candy sugar on the label. The after leaves you with a nice fruity profile, mild yeast-hop bitterness, and some dry chalky coating on the palate. Overall, it’s a bit thin until you get some of the dregs in there. A little extra body and yeasty character is added by that. Would be interesting to set this down for a year and see how it cools down.

Stick A Pin In Me! Voodoo Available Soon.

A good article on Voodoo and Matt Allyn. Can't wait to get my hands on some of this stuff!!!
Post-Gazette article.