Ithaca Excelsior! Brute

Brewed with vintage local Hops, American Barley, Wheat and Corn, Brute is fermented on Oak for many months with Brettanomyces, then finished with a blend of three Champagne yeasts.

Enjoy the turbid citron hue, mature aroma, brash tartness and dry, quenching sparkle.

388 reviews

Ithaca, United States

Community reviews

4.3 2009 vintage thanks to Bearsonacid. Sunshine pour with decent white head. Aroma is bretty and barnyard with a so nice candied lemon. Nice yeast. The blend of brett, lemon and champagne yeast flavors are great. The palate is out of this world. Rich yet light at the same time. It really succeed at being a complex tasting brew while being perfectly sessionnable.

3.7 75cl, Batch E!037, at 7%Vol, recently retired exclusive American brew, with Brettanomyces, thx alot to Mike for bringing this over!, complex sour brew, fruity/woody and slightly vinous/floral, balanced, cloudy, rocky head, very good brew

4.0 Batch E!037 A: pours a turbid apricot ale with three fingers of bone whIte foam. This falls in a few mOments to a solid sheet of the same. Ringed and spotty lacing. S: lots of lemon and Brett tones. Some sour peach. Pretty and simple. T: not nearly as tart as the nose lets on. Sweet and grainy. Some subtle appearances of hay, grass and mineral flavors. M: medium on heavy for the style. Slightly lo carb. Semi dry finish. O: good stuff. Not too tart and offers up a refreshing profile. Good stuff. Serving type: bottle 08-20-2011

4.6 Lucky to be having a 2010 vintage bottle at Eulogy. Tremendous sour! Cloudy orange amber with a long lasting tiny bubble white head. Just fantastic! Great that the brew is unfiltered. Dry and perfectly balanced!

4.2 A - pours hazy orange marmalade with low white tight bubble head. S - fu-unky! Very overripe citrus fruits, bitters, musty oak, canned pineapple juice. Honey and floral notes. M - lighter than expected and so rounded. Fluffy carb. Tart up front to sweeter end. T - nice tart citrus and pineapple and mineral water up front. Sweet corn, funky egg notes, honey and floral notes follow. Notes of tannic Chardonnay. O - very nice. Rounded citrus sweet tart and lightly funky. 4.1

4.3 Bottle thanks to Adam! Pours hazy yellow with a tart funky aroma, taste is sharp acidity with a funky hop finish, very cool beer

4.4 The beer appears great with a golden hazy straw color to it, a nice white head, and minimal lacing on the glass. The smell is decent with brett right up front and a nice yeasty citrus scent. The beers tastes outstanding with brett yeasty and citrusy taste and a bitter finish. The mouthfeel is outstanding as the beer has a sour mouth, light to medium bodied, and well carbonated. Overall....worth the price of admission, now I see why it is a limited release.

3.9 2010 Vintage. 750mL bottle, sent from Glouglouburp (thanks a lot, Dany), pours a cloudy golden with a large foamy white head. Aroma brings out complex yeasts, including brett, some lingering sweetness, and vinous notes. Flavour brings out various champagne yeasts, some brett buried underneath, some lingering residual sweetness, and some tangy citrusy notes. Not the most complex, especially given the ratings. Finishes yeasty, tangy and with some slight residual sweetness. Very enjoyable, but underwhelming given the reputation. Second time having this was in a four year vertical, and I thoroughly enjoyed each version. Upping my rating.

4.2 Bottle at rbsg. From notes. Funky and tart. Lemon citrus with a good dose of barnyard funk.

4.1 Batch E!037 Aroma is slightly acidic, but is dominated by Brett character. Light barnyard character with some nice tropical fruit, pineapple and citrus notes. Pours a very cloudy, pale golden orange with a moderately pillowy, slightly off white head that has less than average retention. Low lacing and small legs. Flavor has light acidity upfront with lots of nice pineapple notes and moderate citrus. Light barnyard character to compliment the fruit and acidity. A hint of phenolics with a touch of a plastic note, but very low. Some light pear and cider notes. Mouthfeel is medium light bodied with medium high carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall a fairly nice, light beer with nice acidity and some really nice Brett character. I wish I had more of these, but this is also not my favorite batch.

4.5 Bottle at RBSG. Pour in unclear yellow with whte head. Tart lemon aroma, some funk, quite sour and a little bit of hops for the taste. Really an awesome beer.

4.1 Bomber at RBSG. Hazy yellow pour, slightly pink. White head. Good tart, plays soft, juicy, awesome!

4.2 Pours hazy gold orange with a thin white head. Aroma is citrus fruit light tartness with candied sugar. Taste is sweet sour tartness of funk lite cheese and funk. Palate is thin dry and lactic. Awesome!

4.0 RBSG grand taste. Hazy yellow pour, white head. Funky and sour nose, floral hoppy taste. Really nice!

4.7 Appearance: Pours a golden color with lots of visible carbonation flowing to the surface. The head rises 1.5" tall with lots of foaminess and shows great retention. Spotty lace clings to the glass. Smell: Tart and funky. Acrid apples, brettanomyces, horseblanket, some dormant lemon citrus. Slight hop aroma as well. Perfect for me. Taste: Funky, sour and tart. This beer screams Belgian at the top of its lungs. Oak, apple, brett, lemon, horseblanket are all flavors. There are so many more complexities. Mouthfeel: Effervescent, lightly bodied, tart, funky and oaky. Some tannins soaks through. Lingering tartness and sourness. Alcohol is there, but not in a big way. Drinkability: Incredible. I had high hopes for this brew and I got my socks knocked off. Everything that you could want in a beer. Plenty of complexity and thirst quenching properties. One of my new favorites for sure.

4.0 750mL bottle during RBWG thanks so some kind soul! Golden pour with a fizzy, bubbly off-white head. Light funk, and light sour, lots of complex fruit esters and light oak, light malts. The flavor is lightly tart, plenty of carbonation, a bit of funk, more fruitiness and pale malts. Nice!

3.9 Bottle. Hazy yellow beer with a big offwhite not lasting head. Sourish, woody, citrus. rubber, hay, floral aroma with barnyard hints. Sourish, floral, malty, hay, raisins and funky flavour.

4.4 Batch E!010 - opened last night I’ve been waiting a long time to open this one. Purchased during a tasting event at the old Spuyten Duyvil shop in Brooklyn. The appearance is perfectly clear with substantial carbonation. I have to say the nose, and the taste were both much more champagne forward than sour, and while this was an amazing beer it didn’t hit me to the level that the Cantillon’s were that we were drinking, but without a doubt if I could ever get another bottle I’d be all over it.

3.7 Bottle. Pours yellow with white head. Funky aroma. Taste. Is barn yard lemon juice and slight hop

4.4 Batch E!018. Pours clear golden orange with a thick white head. The nose is big lemony lactic sour, some really funky barnyard notes and leather. The taste is high medium sweet and high sour with low bitter. Nice sour finish. The texture is crisp and super clean, the body is light with a long finish. Got better.

4.1 Bottle at home with friends, courtesy of Dave. Huge thanks for this one! Pour is hazy peach in appearance with a big white head and decent lacing. Big bretty aroma - pineapple, mango, peach skin, flower petals - lemon peel, straw, a touch of funk, and horse blanket in the aroma. Taste is big tangerine, sour fruits, peachy, brett, light urine, somewhat funky, and woody. Medium body with high carbonation. Seriously tasty sour and this one has aged beautifully.

4.9 This is by far one of my favorite beers out there. refreshing, tart & great for the summer.

4.2 750ml bottle shared by madvike at the local tasting a little while back, was so excited to open this one up. Pours a clear light golden with a nice white bubbly head, the aroma has a nice almost sweetness of fruit with an awesome kick of funk and wine as well, the flavor is very soft on the front end with a subtle amount of sourness and fruit, a little bit of yeast flavors came through as well, but this was awesome. The subtle sourness is what blew me away with the soft mouthfeel, very nice, would really like to try this one again sometime.

3.9 Bottle batch E037!, 03/21/2013. Pours golden orange, slight haze, huge foamy head, settles to cover half the surface, soapy lacing and active carbonation. Aroma is ripe funky cheese and barnyard notes, apricot, orange, mango, other white fruit, slightly tart, yeast and wood- smells very Fantome-like. Taste is fruity and tart- melange of apples, orange, lemon, white grapes, vinous oaky notes. Dry, crisp body. This beer, at least this bottle, has changed from what I remember, and now is a pretty good Fantome.

3.9 this is when the night started to get really interesting! thanks danny!! .. . wow, quite a zippy mouthfeel .. . great foam .. . very spritzy and refreshing, quite the experience, very tart and very dry beer! ... . . Ya lazy Lima bean!

4.0 Draft at VSK night at Blint Tiger back on 11/28/2013 with James, Streets, some others. Light orange pour. Nose is a bit disappointing but the taste is unrefined sweet/light fruit. Apricot, peach, maybe mango. Very loose mouthfeel, splish-splashy. Not acidic at all, but a great fruity beer.

4.1 750 courtesy of Madvike. A really nice sour. Lemon lime tones, big sour, but also sort of grounded with a nice golden malt, wheat backbone. Easy, but also has some nice depth with the 7% ABV. Really well executed, doesn’t have any of the awkward tones that some other US sours have.

4.2 Bottle shared by someone at our January 19th tasting in the Yunk. Huge thanks to whoever brought this hard to find sour. Hazy orange pour, notes were tons of bubblegum, brett, champagne yeasts, lemon, and tart grape soda. Lots of carbonation on this medium bodied sour ale from Ithaca.

3.9 Bottle shared by badnewsbeers. Cloudy, sediment-laden pulpy orange body, massive thick off-white/cream head. Tart, fruity nose with light fruits- especially pineapple. Grapy, sugary body, almost artificially sweet with white grape juice and prickly, grassy wheat; cotton candy. Very good.

4.1 Bottle at Dunderölsprovning 2012. Hazy orange liquid with huge white head. Aroma of red berries, lemons, white pepper, wheat?, light cereal. Quite complex. Taste is dry and light to medium sour with notes of flowers, lemons and white pepper. Light to medium bodied with medium to high carbonation with small, champagne like bubbles. Nicely balanced.