The Rise of Temptation, Decline of Nectar, and an Average Southampton

I poured what was my first full glass of Batch 003 Temptation which was released a little less than a year ago. I've had a few bottles of this within that time, but only in small samples by splitting bottles. I couldn't detect much differences from Batch 002 in those samples but today shed quite a bit of light on that subject. What I noticed was a much more prevalent mustiness in the aroma, like that of a blue cheese. I thought it was pretty awesome. There seems to be less chardonnay barrel character in this than before, although it's obviously still one of the major influences on this beer. And I'm not sure if my palate has just gotten more use to sours in the last couple years, but this seemed to be a lot less tart than before. Either way, it was awesome, and I even thought a little bit better than batch 002. 4.7/5

The next issue is of the famed Nugget Nectar. I had one last night and it just didn't wow me, or really even satisfy me at all, which would be a first. Now, this thing was bottled about 5-6 weeks ago, which should render it still plenty fresh, especially being kept in a fridge around 34F the entire time. I don't know what it was but it just didn't do it for me. In fact, to be honest, this year's batch just isn't doing much for me as it is, compared to last year's. I don't think anyone has noticed much, if any difference from last year, so I'll probably chalk this up to my increasing lupulin threshold shift that has been taking place in the last year.

Lastly, a new beer I tasted with my buddy Kevin last week was the Southampton Grand Cru. This thing has been in the top 100 on Beer Advocate (not sure if it is right now or not), and I'm scratching my head at why that is. It's basically a combination of witbier spices in a beefed up Belgian pale ale body. They used coriander, orange peel, and star anise in this. I don't think it went well with the sweet body at all. Those spices work great in a witbier, where the body is that unmalted wheat that lends a nice wheaty or mild tartness to it. The body of this beer had to of been some caramelly Caravienne or something like that. I don't know but it wasn't great. It wasn't a drain pour either. Just disappointing I guess.