Penpont Brewery Chateau Civrac Old Ale Old Ale at 7.5% ABV (2014 Advent Calendar #3, 330ml, best before 1/2016)
Pours clear pale to medium amber with one finger of loose light tan head diminishing gradually to a thin skim, patchy lacing. (3/5) Nose is caramel malt, grassy and earthy hops, mild fruit. (6/10) Taste is mild sweet, moderately strong bitter, vinous and oaky astringency. (7/10) Medium body tending to the watery, low carbonation, lingering and building bitter finish, slight warming. (3/5)
I’d’ve called this more a bitter than an old ale. I don’t get a lot of the supposed wild yeast character, either – perhaps a little tartness midway through, but I think it’s more present in the bitterness of the finish, which seems to combine bitterness from both hops and wild yeast, along with the woody winey tones. The ABV is integrated to the point of being essentially undetectable except as a very mild warming starting halfway through the bottle. (14/20)
6.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
