By Julia Burke, Beer Editor
A porter brewed with 100% brettanomyces, this is a collaboration beer brewed at Ithaca Beer Company with brewer Bobby Barrar of Iron Hill Brewing Company in Media, PA.
It takes on the delicious combination of dark and sour. A sexy brownish-black in a pint glass with a half-finger camoflage-brown head, Dark Humor is aptly named.
On the nose, chocolate milk (think Nestle Quick) and roasty malts are yummy and almost, just almost, hide the whiff of sour cherry. That cherry's not shy on the palate though.
Delicious sour fruit cuts right through the milky texture, going from cherry to a deeper wild blueberry note for a taste akin to dark-chocolate-covered blueberries.
It's weird and funky, geektastic, and absolutely delicious. The finish is like biting into a giant hunk of dark chocolate with flecks of dried fruit. I dreamed about it later.
The fact that it is rather pricey -- yet on tap literally around the corner from my apartment, at Goodbar -- is a bit of dark humor in and of itself.
Producer: Ithaca Beer Company (with Iron Hill Brewing Company)
ABV: 7.5%
Style: Wild Yeast Porter
Sample size: 16 oz.
Stemware: Pint glass
Price: $8
Score: A-
Ithaca Beer Company
606 Elmira Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850
607-273-0766
Do you have any photos of the beer? I'm always looking to try new brews! For those of us outside NY, is there a way to get some?
~Nancy Lewis~
Posted by: Cooking Contests | June 07, 2011 at 04:16 PM
Nancy - the beer itself? I did take one with my phone; it's not very good quality but I'd be happy to email it to your address if you just want to see what the beer looks like. The image above is the label. I don't know what state you're in, but according to Iron Hill's website the beer will be available in limited selection in PA, Maryland, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Ohio as well as New York. I would suggest calling Ithaca at 607-273-0766 or Iron Hill at 610-738-9600 to find out about your specific area. Cheers!
Posted by: Julia Burke | June 07, 2011 at 04:24 PM
Sounds wonderful. Would you put it in the same type of sour as a Rodenbach Grand Cru? Perhaps a little smoother due to the malt? This and the name alone put this one high on my wishlist for next time I'm back home in the NorthEast.
Posted by: Brett | June 07, 2011 at 07:42 PM
Brett(you have an awesome name for a beer geek)- you know, I wouldn't. The imperial porter aspect of this beer lends a lot of chewy, malty chocolate, particularly on the palate, and the sour wild yeast flavor is really a complement to that rather than the star of the show as it is with a beer like the Rodenbach (I drool as I type its name). They made a good porter first, in other words, and the Brett is a component adding complexity. If you're like me and will cross state lines for anything sour, get some, my friend.
Posted by: Julia Burke | June 08, 2011 at 09:42 AM