Score: 60/100 – Not Recommended
From a 500ml bottle served at cellar temperature at 11 degrees Celsius into a TeKu glass. No date information on the packaging.
I picked up the bottle straight from the brewery just over two weeks ago. My expectations are high given the previous beers I’ve had from Reverence.
Appearance 2/6
A gusher. The beer pours a veiled straw with 1.5cm of thin, white head which fully dissipates within less than a minute. The yeast cake from the bottom was roused by the high level of carbonation which contributes to a lot of floating particles in the glass. No lacing with poor head retention. I can’t say this looks appealing.
Aroma 14/24
Medium-light intensity with decent balance. The aroma is nuanced and peculiar.
Quite rustic in character, there are notes of lemon, low charred wood, and pronounced kerosene-like character. Moderate doughy-crackery pale malt creates a round base.
The dry nose is very malty with a grainy-crackery character paired with low charred wood and petrol.
Flavour 25/40
Medium-light intensity with sharp balance and low perceived bitterness.
The sour palate opens up with notes of lactic acid, smoke, and lemon zipping towards a rustic center featuring notes of doughy, crackery malt, plain yoghurt, petroleum, and lemon.
The short finish is faint and sharp-ish with notes of plain yoghurt, lemon zest, charred wood, petroleum, and doughy-crackery pale malt.
Mouthfeel 7/10
Light body with high carbonation. The mouthfeel is crisp, puckering, and sharp with no apparent alcohol warming and a bone-dry finish. Moderate astringency and the high carbonation make for one drying palate sensation. Too much for my tongue.
Overall 12/20
Reverence Barrel Works’ Messenger of Dawn comes across flawed and it taste average.
The appearance is not very pleasing with lot’s of yeast particles floating around the glass. Meanwhile, the aroma has a strange character which is also expressed on the palate. In the last handful of years, after having drunk thousands of beers, I have no recollection of ever detecting an aged Riesling character in the glass. I find it interesting but it does have a solventy quality to it and I highly doubt it’s supposed to be there. With notable astringency, the mouthfeel leans towards drying leaving my palate exhausted.
Unfortunately Messenger of Dawn doesn’t come together as an enjoyable drinking experience. In fact, I won’t be finishing the bottle. Without question, the beer ticks a lot of Lichtenhainer descriptors but it doesn’t deliver a pleasant trip down the flavour road. Not recommended.
Beerfection 