Following a fabulous dinner at Brisbane’s Bavarian Bier Cafe – I decided to walk down to a craft beer bar that I had heard about from a blog post on brisbanecraftbeer.com.
The Embassy Bar is a newly opened establishment – it was closed for refurbishment when I was in Brisbane last – so this was my first opportunity to see it’s new digs. I was impressed – the beer list is fairly impressive – although not quite as extensive as the list at Archive. The food looks fabulous – but I was stuffed from the massive pork knuckle at the BBC. So all I settled for a tasty beverage.
The beer on the list that caught my eye was the Acid Freak Balsamic Baltic Porter from Brew Cult. Brew Cult is based in Geelong in Victoria, Australia. From what i have read of them they are a young upstart brewery with a reputation for pushing the boundaries and making fun, adventurous beer.
This is right up my alley – and based on name alone – this beer was going to be right in this breweries wheelhouse. As I ordered it, I was thinking that I really wanted this beer to work – the flavor profile sounded very interesting. At $25 a bottle – I REALLY wanted this beer to impress me.
The beer poured a dark mahogany brown but the look was very thin – there was almost no head on the beer at all. I expected it to be a little thin – but this was almost too thin.
The aroma was full on balsamic vinegar. Kind of peppery and almost woody flavor that makes balsamic such an awesome addition to so many things. The aroma was actually quite nice – little sweet, little woody, all balsamic with a little malt aroma in the background.
The things that can be said for the aroma didn’t quite make it over to the taste however. The beginning is a bit zippy – the balsamic really coming out and making itself known. Then the beer just kind of falls flat – about the best way I can describe the middle of the taste is “brown”. The vinegar comes back towards the end – but more as a bit of sweetness instead of the sour that I was expecting. I am a sour beer kind of guy – and this one just kind of misses the mark.
For a Baltic porter – I expected the mouthfeel to be a bit thick – but Acid Freaks is just a bit thin and watery. If there was a big sour note – I would expect that – but without that it leaves me a bit wanting.
As i was enjoying this beer at a table next the bar – the bar tender stopped by to ask me how I like it. We had a chat about some of the defining characteristics – and his thought it that the beer really comes alive food. His favorite is to have the beer with Italian food – something with a spicy tomato sauce. I could see this happening – the character of the beer would really change with something to break it up a bit.
Summing all that up – the beer falls a bit short of where I wanted it to take me. It’s not that sour. It’s not that Baltic-y. It’s a bit weak in my opinion. You can tell from the beer that it’s not made shabbily – it’s just a recipe that doesn’t suit my tastes. Your mileage may vary – but if I was to have Acid Freaks again – I would definitely have it to accompany a meal. That may be what makes me freak out about Acid Freaks.
Overall – 2/5
Up and Adam 