Sly Fox Ichor
An Abbot style Quadruple brewed with German Pils and Roast malts and Belgian Candi Sugar, hopped with German Tradition hops. Luscious and seductive, Ichor is brewed for both the body and the soul. This beer will improve with careful aging but is ready to drink now.
3.5
320 reviews
Pottstown and Phoenixville, United States
Community reviews
DATE REVIEWED: June 17, 2014... GLASSWARE: Duvel snifter... OCCASION: year in public education #15--done!...APPEARANCE: intimidating dark black body that sports a thin white head that settles quickly--a white on black spectacle... AROMA: toffee and peat malt dominate the nostrils; fruity yeasts--peach, pear, apple--provide a floral balance... PALATE: active, warm, full-bodied--worth sipping of 10% ABV; like a strong ale in texture, but a bit buttery too... TASTE: complex fruit--plum, black currants, and banana--with clove cigarettes and milk stout properties--a demanding,, playful experience... OVERALLL: the kitchen sink seems thrown in here, with a serious backbone that rewards the drinker with hear and flavor--a big beer that could be brought out for big occasions....
750 ml bottle purchased @ the brew pub on my visit awhile back. Color is a deep brown with ruby highlights, not much penetration of light. Fizzy head that lingered until the end. Aroma is sugar with prune juice.
Flavor is cloying sweet. Caramelized sugar, Molasses, candy syrup, sugar dipped raisins and maybe a hint of yeast underneath all this sugar. Texture is sticky and syrupy medium body, leaning on the thin side. On the positive side no alcohol from time it mellowed in the cellar. Overall I like Sly Fox, so this is not a reflection on their brewery but this brew will not stand up to any other in the style. Way to sweet.
From BA review on 3-2-12 -
Served in a 10 oz chalice glass
Appearance – Pours a deep-deep red nearly brown color. There was a thin white head upon serving which faded to give a moderate level of lacing. While not bad the lacing was less then would be expected for a quad.
Smell – Dark fruits of cherry and plum are mixed in with some more bready aromas. A yeasty and slightly tropical sweet aroma make their presence known but are still quite light in comparison to the dark fruits. At the end of the aroma enters some alcohol smell, while not overpowering it is definitely present.
Taste – The dark fruits in the nose are the first to be tasted. Plums and cherries are most pronounced, but there is also some raisin and apple mixed in as well. These sweeter fruit flavors are next paired with some more yeasty and malty flavors, with a nice does of banana mixed into the taste. There is a good level of alcohol flavor that then comes into play brining the taste to the end. While not huge, the alcohol is a bit on the stronger side. While it is warming, it is just a bit too much at the end.
Mouthfeel – The mouthfeel is rather moderate to slightly above average. While not bad, it is a tad shy of what would be desired for a quadruple. The carbonation is right, but the body is just a bit too thin for the style.
Overall – The beer has some really nice attributes, such as nice strong fruit and malt flavors and aromas, but the weaker body and the stronger alcohol presence keep it from being really good. Not bad, but not really great either.
Bottle, caged and corked. Deep, dark and surly. This carries a thick character of dark fruit, drinks like liquid raisin and bourbon, and is exceptionally easy to quaff, all things considered. Very well assembled, a nice balance of many classical points. (#5516, 5/16/2014)
Pour is a dark red with a small white head. Aroma is molasses and candi sugar. Flavor is brown sugar and dark fruit with molasses and a bit of roasted nuts. Finish is candi sugar sweet with a nice raison after taste. Maybe a bit thin for a quad but plenty flavor full and the alcohol is hidden well.
Aromas of raisin, strawberry, and caramel cream. An incredibly dark beer with deep ruby highlights, head foam is beige and almost fully lasting, beautiful aside from the chunks of sediment. Dry, fruity, savory, with notes of cola, blueberry, and toast. Medium-full bodied, very well carbonated, finishes chock full of dark fruit and some earthly hops, and some grain alcohol. Delicious, very smooth, very complex, and wonderfully refreshing.
Sweet faint aromas of brown sugar and herbs. Tastes pretty syrupy sweet, brown sugar, molasses, dried fruits, grape juice, slightly tart. Deep dark ruby color, great body. Sooo good.
750 mL bottle from Beer Run. Pours a dark reddish brown color with a medium sized fizzy tan head. Fair head retention. Aroma of spice, yeast, brown sugar, herbal hops, stone fruits, mild earth. The taste is tart stone fruits, brown sugar, herbal hops, yeast, mild booze. Medium bodied, alcohol fairly well hidden, low carbonation. Solid beer.
Sampled at Big Brew Beer Festival (Morristown). Poured a hazy light brown/amber color with a foamy off white head. Aroma of Belgian yeast, light citrus, caramel, and roasted malt. Taste mimics the nose, with notes of raisins, and booze.
Sweet, fruit, candi sugar aroma. The appearance is deep amber, haazy. The flavor is like the aroma, sweet, sweet, fruit, candi sugar, bread. Medium to medium thick in body. The finish is sweet, pine needles. Quite oood overall.
750 ml bottle into chalice, no bottle dating. Pours moderately cloudy deep ruby red color with a 1 finger dense khaki head with good retention, that reduces to a thin cap that lingers. Light spotty lacing clings on the glass, with some moderate streaming carbonation. Aromas of big pear, apple, raisin, plum, light banana, caramel, brown sugar, toast, brown bread, candi sugar, clove, pepper, herbal, and yeast earthiness. Very nice aromas with good balance and complexity of bright fruity/spicy yeast and dark malt notes; with good strength. Taste of pear, apple, raisin, plum, light banana, caramel, toast, brown bread, brown sugar, clove, pepper, herbal, candi sugar, and yeast earthiness. Lingering notes of light fruits, caramel, toast, brown sugar, brown bread, clove, pepper, herbal, candi sugar, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Damn nice complexity and balance of bright fruity/spicy yeast and dark malt flavors; with a great malt/fruity/spicy balance and zero cloying sweetness after the finish. Medium carbonation and medium-full bodied; with a moderately slick, crisp, and lightly syrupy mouthfeel that is nice. Alcohol is very well hidden with only a light warming present after the finish. Overall this is an excellent quadrupel style. All around great complexity and balance of fruity/spicy yeast and dark malt flavors; and very smooth and crisp to sip on. A very enjoyable offering.
This bottle was found in my friend’s basement. It is old.
Pours a medium - dark brown with no head. Completely still. Aroma is black cherries, brown sugar, a hint of coffee and some alcohol. Flavor is VERY sweet; caramel and sugar-dipped cherry. Decent silky body , bit I’m really missing the carbonation. Needs a little more balance and obviously a little carbonation.
On tap at brewery. Pours a deep, rich mahogany color with a dark red hue and a small, off white head that slowly fades. Aroma has a vinuous blast of fermented grapes, raisins, molasses, cherries, and light yeast. Taste has molasses and caramel sweetness, musty yeast, dark fruits, grape juice, dry, clean booze in the finish. Syrupy medium body with almost no carbonation
750ml served into an Orval Chalice.
A - Pours a red cola brown with ruby highlights. 1 finger of frothy khaki head forms a creamy micro-bubbled cap that never vanishes. Great looking beer.
S - Vinous fruit, grapes, cocoa, peaches, caramel malt, raw brown sugar, cherries, Christmas cake, banana taffy comes out as it warms.
T - Prunes, dates, green figs, cinnamon, nutmeg, candy syrup, slight oxidation, raw brown sugar, unripe banana, a tartness plays on the edges of the tongue, licorice comes out on the aftertaste.
M - Moderate carbonation keeps this from being full bodied.
This beer has a raw sweetness that is seems to cry for more shelf time. It seems to lack the melding or layering of flavors of a complex Quad. I will save my other bottle for December because this beer just reminds me of Christmas time.
Serving type: bottle
04-01-2012
During RBWG 2013. Clear amber pour with a small khaki head. Ripe dark fruits, some caramel, brown sugar, etc., and a bit of doughy/pale malts as well. The flavor is much the same, dark fruits, malty, some candy sugar in there, yeast esters. Not bad!
Pours from the 25.4oz bottle a cola-ish brown with a 2 finger head. I cant see much in the way of carbonation in the darkness. Aroma is surprisingly faint ( or is it my allergies?) but I catch a hint of bread & dark fruit. 1st sip is of dark cherries, plums, and a hint of caramel. It’s quite sweet & malty even after 2 months of aging. Mouthfeel is a bit prickly, but there is not as much carbonation as one would expect. Overall, this is a pretty solid quadrupel, a quite suitable offering on National Beer Day!
Appearance: dark caramel brown, ruby against the light, with a short, fizzy off-white head that shrinks quickly but leaves a stubborn collar; visible carbonation risers along the sides. Aroma: at the pour, very boozy; this quickly subsides into candi and brown sugars, caramel, milk chocolate, cola, pumpernickel bread, molasses, raisins and dates, and even some citrus. Taste: extremely sweet, with strong notes of caramel up front (like a Werther’s Original) then lots of raisins, plums, brown sugar, and a hint of green apple; as it warms, you get some woody, leathery, chocolatey notes, along with a hint of cherries. Finish: a lingering brown sugar sweetness is the strongest remaining flavor, and there’s an immediate alcohol warmth in my belly that’s just shy of burning. Notes: Cellared this for exactly one year, which I think helped the boozy/alcohol characteristics mature and subside to a reasonable level; else it likely would have been a too-intense booze bomb. I’m not the biggest quad fan in the world, but this was really, really enjoyable. While it was big, sweet, and boozy, the palate was not too syrupy, which would have made it rather overwhelming. Bottle from the Rare Beer Club.
Bottle in the hotel lobby during RBWG 2013. Pours clear amber with a fine cream head. Big sugary malt flavor, ripe fruits, some yeast and bread. Full bodied with fine to average carbonation. Mild warmth finish, sweet malts, ripe fruits, berries, rich bread, mellow alcohol. Decent balance. I like it.
Acquired this bottle quite a while ago. 750ML..probably 18 months old. enjoyed in a wine glass. Dark amber color, nice clarity, slight brownish luffy head fading slowly. Nose is sweet, yeasty, bready and a hint of raisins.Taste is loaded with raisins, hint of cherries, cane sap and leather. Very sweet up front with a mellow finish with hints of tobacco. Very thin body, nice carbonation. Decent abbey style beer.
Dark amber coloured and clear. Has an off-white head, lasting. Aroma is sweet, yeasty and has notes of sugars. Flavor starts sweet, yeasty, hardly any bitterness. Syrupy texture and soft carbonation.
Bottle. Creamy off-white excellent fully lasting head. Amber colour. Moderate malty and hoppy and yeasty aroma. Light bitter and light sweet flavor. Moderate bitter finish. Creamy palate. Nice.
Way to sweet for me. It had a nose fruity aroma and I thought it might be OK but then I took a sip and the sweetness floored me. Very sticky on the tongue and a cotton candy like after taste,
Bottle; Pour is murky brown / amber with a fine bubbled off white head in this glass. The head is on the average side, retaining average/ below average for the style, with some very mild lacing present here. The nose is probably the highlight : Mild Vinousness, caramel, toffee, dark fruits and booze is present. The flavor profile is a little messy, however; Initial is bitter, syrupy, with sweet bread, caramel, toffee, and belgian sugar present here. It’s honestly abrasive on the tongue, with sharp features, a touch of vinousness, and more dark fruits here. Not really impressed with this one
750 ml. Black with ruby highlights. Fizzy, off-white head. Aroma of plums, cotton candy, overripe fruits. The flavor is heavily sweet and lightly bitter. It finishes moderately to heavily sweet and lightly to moderate bitter. Medium body, watery texture turning syrupy, lively carbonation. Cloyingly sticky sweet. Overwhelms any good qualities the beer has. Nice aroma, though.
Bottle. Pours dark drown with thick beige head. Nose of sweet brown sugar and alcohol. Warm boozy sweet candi sugar, molasses.
Draft at craft ale house. Pours copper with minimal head. The aroma is candied sugar and brown sugar. taste is sweet but not on par with the real complex quads.
750ml bottle. Attractive chestnut burgundy body, creamy beige head. Pleasant dark fruit aroma. Rather well attentuated and not too sticky for the big ABV. Raisin, plum, prune. A quality offering, with a nice, fluffy mouthfeel. Recommended for Quad fans.
Bottle from RBC. Aroma and flavor of toasted malt, caramel, and toffee. Very carbonated brew that hits you in the mouth. Held on to this for a few months before drinking. Pretty tasty beer.
On tap for growler fills at Half Time. Pours a caramel amber with a touch of haze and a medium to large white to beige head. Musk, malt, candy, toast. Sweet, malt, smooth and toasty. Caramel and toffee. Long caramel, bitter malt. Sweet musk, warm alcohol and yeast. Lingering alcohol.
Tap at the stags head. Pours reddish brown with sweet nose of caramel and malt. Tastes of burnt sugar, toffee, dark fruits, berries, and booze. Decent but probably would t drink a ton of this