Beer Revisited: Scythe & Sickle
The aged beer this weekend is something that has been sitting in my fridge for a long time: Scythe & Sickle, brewed by Brewery Ommegang of Cooperstown, New York.
I'm not in the mood to set up my backdrop so . . . beer on carpet!
I did not know how old this beer was the last time I drank it. However, I noticed a packaged-on date on the shoulder: "07/21/14." There's also a best-by date: "07/2016."
According to BeerAdvocate, the beer is no longer brewed. It may have been brewed only once in 2014. Based on very unscientific evidence (a cursory check of BeerAdvocate and Rate Beer reviews), this may be the last bottle in existence. Okay, I doubt it—but it's cool to believe.
The color is cloudy, light amber. Three fingers of dense, beige, bubble-spotted, meringue-like head dissipates slowly, leaving behind a bubbly lacing.
The aroma is very malty and reminds me of the smell of a brewery, mostly wort. There are also scents of caramel, spice (pepper?), light esters (mostly cherry), and hay. Honestly, it smells kind of weird. It smells boozy, but the label says it's only 5.2 percent ABV.
Similarly, it tastes off, but it seems drinkable. The flavor mostly mirrors the aroma with lots of malt, caramel, spice that lingers on the taste buds, and cherry licorice. I'm thinking of that saying, "Once a man, twice a baby"; it tastes unfinished, maybe because it is so old. It is still very carbonated, though, so kudos to the cap for keeping the bottle sealed for all these years. The unfinished element does fade as the beer warms. It has a boozy element, though the alcohol isn't that high. It has a hay-like element, too.
Comparison to 2015 tasting
This bottle does not seem as spicy. Also, the funk from the previous review is missing. The boozy touch is still there, though, which throws me for a loop because the ABV is not high. Overall, this beer is mostly intact. Oh, the wonders of refrigeration.
I'm not in the mood to set up my backdrop so . . . beer on carpet!
I did not know how old this beer was the last time I drank it. However, I noticed a packaged-on date on the shoulder: "07/21/14." There's also a best-by date: "07/2016."
According to BeerAdvocate, the beer is no longer brewed. It may have been brewed only once in 2014. Based on very unscientific evidence (a cursory check of BeerAdvocate and Rate Beer reviews), this may be the last bottle in existence. Okay, I doubt it—but it's cool to believe.
The color is cloudy, light amber. Three fingers of dense, beige, bubble-spotted, meringue-like head dissipates slowly, leaving behind a bubbly lacing.
The aroma is very malty and reminds me of the smell of a brewery, mostly wort. There are also scents of caramel, spice (pepper?), light esters (mostly cherry), and hay. Honestly, it smells kind of weird. It smells boozy, but the label says it's only 5.2 percent ABV.
Similarly, it tastes off, but it seems drinkable. The flavor mostly mirrors the aroma with lots of malt, caramel, spice that lingers on the taste buds, and cherry licorice. I'm thinking of that saying, "Once a man, twice a baby"; it tastes unfinished, maybe because it is so old. It is still very carbonated, though, so kudos to the cap for keeping the bottle sealed for all these years. The unfinished element does fade as the beer warms. It has a boozy element, though the alcohol isn't that high. It has a hay-like element, too.
Comparison to 2015 tasting
This bottle does not seem as spicy. Also, the funk from the previous review is missing. The boozy touch is still there, though, which throws me for a loop because the ABV is not high. Overall, this beer is mostly intact. Oh, the wonders of refrigeration.
