Tomorrow's a big day for San Diego because it's the start of something that San Diegans take very seriously- the Del Mar Races. Opening day at the races means a lot of things- ridiculously huge crowds, scantily clad ladies wearing crazy hats, me stuck in hellish amounts of traffic wondering why I chose to live north of the racetrack when my work lies south of the track and, most importantly for this review, lots of horses.
I know what you're thinking- Horses...beer...what? Well, in this case, the explanation is pretty simple. Austin's Jester King Craft Brewery makes a beer called Boxer's Revenge and it happens to have a particularly badass-looking horse on its label. I don't know if you can see in the picture, but the horse in question is wearing boxing gloves and sporting a waxed moustache. Bad. Ass. Now let's see how the beer is.
Boxer's Revenge pours a glowing, dark apricot color with deep golden edges. A huge foamy and cream-colored head wells up in the glass immediately and takes a while to go down. The smell was a bit sweeter than I was expecting, but very pleasant. I picked up candied apricots, white grape juice, sweet moscato wine, mango, a healthy dose of farmhouse funk and some faint wood.
The taste opens with a slightly sour (but also sweet) white wine flavor. There's a pretty complex mingling of malt and wood flavors in the middle with just a touch of brett thrown in for good measure. Some citrus, tropical fruit and barrel notes can be found in the middle as well before a finish that is dry, woody and funky. Despite being over 10% ABV, this beer is incredibly smooth and never really gives any hints of its strength.
So, if you're looking for a horse that could win you some money tomorrow, your best bet is probably to brave the traffic and head to the races. But if you're looking for something a bit more interesting, like a horse that's mustachioed and ready to rumble, I recommend looking to Jester King.
Final Grade: A
Top 250 Beers Tasted: 128
