SaintBrewis.com - Ibex Series: Lazy Ballerina

Justin:

Aroma - This might come as a shocker but I get wine on the nose. Some grape must and a general sparkling wine aroma.

Score: 10/12

Appearance - A beautiful, deep shade of red with a soft white head

Score: 3/3

Flavor - Tastes like a sweetart candy but not in a bad way. It comes with a dry finish but it all works so well together.

Score: 18/20

Mouthfeel - High carbonation with a medium body.

Score: 4/5

Overall Impression - Unexpectedly amazing. I say that because if this were a blind tasting, I never would've guessed it were a Schlafly beer. Schlafly has been a staple of the St. Louis beer scene for literally longer than any other craft brewery and they're taking big steps to put themselves back on the map by producing more than just their safe (albeit delicious) seasonal and year-round beers.

Score: 10/10

Blake:

Aroma - At first whiff I wouldn't hold it against you if you thought this was a sparkling wine. I've had quite a few wine barrel aged beers, and I'm not sure many of them get this much wine aroma on the first sniff.

Score: 10/12

Appearance - The color is a really beautiful deep red, with a nice white head. There is no doubt that this beer looks tasty.

Score: 3/3

Flavor - This one is pretty tart up front with a great wine finish. There is a bit of oak mixed in because of the barrel aging. The only flaw to this beer is the slight buttery taste that doesn't quite mix as well with the other flavors present.

Score: 17/20

Mouthfeel - Once again, just by mouthfeel alone it's very reminiscent of a sparkling wine.

Score: 4/5

Overall Impression - I really liked this beer, and I've since opened a few more of my bottles. It isn't a perfect beer by any means, but it was a bold choice by Schlafly to release this beer. The Ibex series was slated to be a new series by Schlafly that was a bit more experimental than a lot of their more commercial offerings. I've heard rumors the series has been canceled after one release, which is a shame because Schlafly could've really made a run at the small batch beers that everyone is coveting so highly these days. Also of note, at the release party for this and what was supposed to be the start of the Ibex series, Schlafly also had a wild ale version of this that was superior to this already good beer in every way. If it had made it to bottle release, I'd expect people would have a pretty high opinion of this series to start out.

(Update: Schlafly commented on our review and said that this will not be the last of the Ibex series. I'm glad to hear our information was false!)

Score: 8/10