Cavalry X-Limited

Cavalry X-Limited (Lot 3)
1 12 oz bottle, $1.55, 4.8% ABV

Purchased at Liquor Depot, New Britain

xlim2Sigh. Sniff. Whimper. This is my very last Cavalry beer review. Ever.

Cavalry closed in May 2014. Why? Well, this picture is an excellent clue. Look at that mess.

During the last, say, 18 months or so of Cavalry’s life, this over carbonation problem appeared, proliferated, and didn’t go away. I can understand the first part and the second, but not the third. The problem became cartoonishly bad.

Someone suggested giving Cavalry beers as a gag gift to someone you don’t like. As in, “here, have a six-pack of beer!”

“Thanks!” (Opens beer, torrent of suds shoot skyward, coating ceiling, victim, and floor. Gets ‘em every time.)

So when that is how your beer gets talked about – for a good couple of years no less – then perhaps closing up shop and moving on is your best bet. Mike from Cavalry is a good dude and a war veteran with a jaundiced view of our country’s abysmal war efforts. I doff my cap to him.

Except when I do that, my head doesn’t shoot out 12 ounces of carbonated beer in his face.

Cavalry says:

English Spring Ale with a malty start, a hint of chocolate malt with a mild hop finish.

Cavalry released 7 X-Limited batches. Each batch, or lot, was different. This one, Lot 3, was the only one I had – and I didn’t even know I had it, as seeking out which lot one had required finding the tiny number on the label and then pretty much asking the brewery what the hell it was.

xlim1For the record, 1 was an English nut brown ale, 2 was an ESB, 3 was this odd and terrible English spring ale, 4 was a summer ale, 5 was and English Dark Mild Ale, 6 was another ESB (?) and 7 was a freaking pumpkin ale. Or something. The trick was to figure out the lot # on the tiny stamp on each bottle, as all the labels were identical.

A neat, yet stupid, idea.

As I said, I had Batch 3. The English Spring Ale, whatever that is supposed to be. My notes were, in their entirety, “muddy, sediment.” Spring ales should not contain mud nor sediment. I’m just wondering how I discerned that with this ridiculous head going on.

This beer was awful. And it wasn’t even infected; it was just a terribly executed simple ale. A spring ale with chocolate malts wut? Cavalry was just trolling us at this point. You don’t need any more detail than that, do you? It’s not like you’re ever going to find or drink this crap.

On that prickish note, RIP Cavalry and good luck to owner/brewer Mike with all your future endeavors. Just please, don’t do anything requiring carbonation.

Overall Rating: F
Rating vs. Similar style: F

Cavalry is closed. Stop looking for a website.
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