December 11th - Brewery Vivant Tart Side of the Moon

"Home, home again

I like to be here when I can."

"When I come home cold and tired
It's good to warm my bones beside the fire"

Now that we're home from a Monday, it's time to kick off another week of reviews.  Tonight's selection comes from Brewery Vivant in Michigan.  If you ever visit the Lower Peninsula, this place looks pretty cool, at least from the pictures I see on their page.  Turns out the place, while it looks like a converted church inside, was actually converted into a brewery from a former funeral home.  An environmentally friendly brewery, back in 2012, Vivant was one of the first certified green breweries.  Check out their about us link for some more green reading.  

It should be noted that this is another Tavour purchase from my latest (and first) shipment.  For what it's worth, I did do some reading regarding my recent self-created debacle with the printed date on the cans.  I won't rehash that now, but suffice it to say I was wrong.  They shipped a beer that was canned on 11/13/17 instead of what my research told me may have been a "drink before" date.  

My apologies!

"...and after all we're only ordinary men"

I spotted this brew via the app and immediately was taken back to my middle and high school days where I really enjoyed the sounds of 70's bands.  If you asked me to explain to you what the draw was, I honestly couldn't tell you, I just really enjoyed the music and still find myself sitting down late evenings and pulling up Shine on You Crazy Diamond and other Pink Floyd tracks via YouTube.  Led Zeppelin was another one of my favorite backs from before my time.  

Tart Side of the Moon (9.5% ABV) is a tart imperial stout, which for me is going to be a first.  I imagine there will be something that I can compare it to (like a kreik beer) because of the notes on the 16 ounce can waiting for me.  Dark Chocolate and cherry sounds like a pretty decadent sweet (and I assume slightly sour) treat after a Monday at work.  

.

"Out of the way, it's a busy day

I've got things on my mind..."

...like the review, so let's get to it!  The beer poured an opaque chocolate brown with very little head to speak of.  As for the aroma, there was a slight malty presence that was dominated by the sour cherries coming from the glass.  Personally, I didn't get much chocolate malt aroma like I expected.  It's there, but more cherries are here than anything.  The flavor was what I expected in the sour cherry that started with a tartness on the tongue that lasted.  For me, the malt taste is lacking and there isn't a backbone of malt at all.  The bitterness seems to come from the cherry instead of a hoppiness, which some may enjoy.  A 9.5% brew was going to be something that I needed to savor and enjoy over time, so I figured warming it up wouldn't hurt too much and may bring out different elements.

"Ticking away the moments that make up a dull day

You fritter and waste the hours in an offhand way.

Kicking around on a piece of ground in your home town

Waiting for someone or something to show you the way."

As warmth set in for this selection, the dark chocolatey aroma was more pronounced and the acidity significantly subsided in the flavor, making this more drinkable for me.  Honestly, the colder this was, the worse my review was going to be, but as previous reviews have taught me, I need to be patient and sometimes allow certain styles to warm in order to fully appreciate them and the brewer's intentions.  This beer was much more enjoyable and palatable as it was warmer.  If I would have consumed this thing while it was colder I'd be dealing with some heartburn this evening for sure.

Overall, I'm not even sure you'll be able to find this anywhere other than in Michigan, but if you do find it and enjoy a kriek-style beer and are also a stout fan, I'd give this a go.  Just be sure you learn from my experience and let it warm up before downing the whole thing.  

I'll leave you with some wisdom on a Monday evening from the 1973 album that precedes me by about 9 years:

"All that you touch
All that you see
All that you taste
All you feel.
All that you love
All that you hate
All you distrust
All you save.
All that you give
All that you deal
All that you buy,
beg, borrow or steal.
All you create
All you destroy
All that you do
All that you say.
All that you eat
And everyone you meet
All that you slight
And everyone you fight.
All that is now
All that is gone
All that's to come
and everything under
the sun is in tune
but the sun
is eclipsed by the moon.

There is no dark side
of the moon really.
Matter of fact
it's all dark."

-Pink Floyd - Eclipse (1973) - Dark Side of the Moon