Rating: 5.25/6
Home Brewing Project #28 Essence Of The Cryonical Banshee by Nubis Sanctum Ales is a 9% ABV Wee Heavy/ Scotch Ale.
Label:
Essence Of The Cryonical Banshee
In every culture of the world, there are tales about roaming spirits. One in particular is the story of a woman who keens over the loss of her loved one or loved ones. In Scottish and Irish lore, she goes by “The Banshee”. Mexico calls her, La Llorona”. Britain and Japan have spotted her and she goes by “The White Lady” and “Onryo” respectively. Her origin can even be traced in Greek Mythology as the “The Siren”
She survived the ages. A being of pure immortality, created in an Atlantical cryonics experiment in search of true immortality. History has shown that the majority of our technological advancements was due to the Atlantians. However, they were warned by higher dimensional beings about spreading their secrets to mankind. With the sinking of their city, their fate was sealed. Having been the only one of her kind, the banshee was forced to roam the earth. While most fear her, her story is of sadness, for she is still spreading the secrets in bottles of tears we call, “spirits”, that she leaves wherever she travels.
Ingredients: Water, Hops, Malt & Scottish Ale Yeast.
==Introduction==
Project #28 was inspired by my need to create a rare style that I only get a to try every now and again. That style is the Wee Heavy. Ever since I got the Sam Adam Wee Heavy, I realized how different of a beer it was. So much so, that I really loved it and wanted to try to find as many of these as I could. I have tried many great ones since like the Alesmith Wee Heavy, Founders Backwoods Bastard and even the Bruery’s Chronology Wee Heavy. With the experience I have gathered brewing several batches, I figured this would be easy. Although the ingredients shown really didn’t look like much. How could only a few grains and lots of malt really create that unique profile. I can understand how the style is manly malty in profile but there was a unique complexity which I see in the style. I have yet to have a bad Wee Heavy and it is one that I think I would be critical as I will compare to the other greats. With that being said, this creation that took me several months to have ready especially since it sat a long time, let’s see how it turned out. Cheers!
Aromas:
Dulce de leche caramel, burnt caramel, butterscotch, smoked peat, smokey chocolate, dark pepper notes, banana, dark fruit prunes, raisins, plums, dates, currants, dark chocolate, licorice, brown sugar, figgy pudding, vanilla, stone fruit peach, scotch and fruit cake.
Flavors:
Rich dark fruit prunes, raisins, plums, dates, currants, smoked peat, dark chocolate, smokey chocolate, Scotch notes, molasses, anise, dulce de leche caramel, burnt caramel, butterscotch, cinnamon, fruit cake, sweetened condensed milk, toffee, figgy pudding, vanilla, stone fruit peach, old mango, pecan pie, burnt marshmallow, coffee cake, brown sugar, licorice, honey, dark pepper, earthy notes, bananas and crème brulee hints.
Aftertaste:
Finishing with rich dark fruit prunes, burnt caramel, vanilla, Scotch, stone fruit hints, dark pepper, licorice, bananas and rich toffee. No alcohol in the taste. Crimson Brown Medium body. Smooth creamy, and mildly syrupy mouthfeel along with a sipping drinkability.
Overall:
Into the exceptional territory. I honestly did not know what to expect in the beginning seeing as it was such a minimal grain recipe but the huge part being the yeast and the malt use. However, this blew my mind. It is smooth, no alcohol in the taste which is great and not offensive and it also has some Belgian dark notes to it although the European malty aspects in the tribute of Scotch ales, this is simply just that. A great wee heavy! I would definitely love to make this a Scotch barrel version next time to see how this comes out.
Anime Corner:
Kula Diamond from the SNK King of Fighters series was chosen in this homebrew pairing as I have chosen her with some of the best Wee Heavys I have tried in the past especially the Alesmith Barrel Aged Wee Heavy. The reason I chose her in this pairing as well was that she looks a lot like a Banshee with her cold stare looking into the void. Although, honestly she is well loved by her peers and really isn’t by herself in the KOF series but she sure made for a great character for the story of the Banshee. Many of the colors she has also work well with the flavors and the dark color of the beer. Since it is close to a winter warmer, it also fits as she is a user of the cold.
Sources:
http://r002.joyme.com/r002/image/2012/07/21/2C0AA3B6B1CE44FE408C0BA759C84D80.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/24/99/54/24995452ae629f5987c1a21cf39bbb33.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f1/46/be/f146befd893dfc793d381f240155a024.jpg
http://screenheaven.com/walls/anime-manga/king-of-fighters-kula-diamond-anime-79572-1920×1080.png
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/5f/b3/86/5fb386af159a3c8b41e627c1e857bb54.jpg
https://d.wattpad.com/story_parts/212296060/images/142c8d78b2719b79.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/MzIfaOI.jpg
Brewerianimelogs (Anime and Beer Lore) 