Monthly Archives: September 2018

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales, Lambic - Gueuze, USA

Black Project Oxcart

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Brewery: Black Project Spontaneous & Wild Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Gueuze)
Other Notes: Methode Traditionnelle. Blended coolship spontaneous ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Oxcart is a blend of 3 years of traditional Lambic-inspired, coolship spontaneous ale that follows the Methode Traditionnelle guidelines. Oxcart is the purest expression of our goals with Black Project as spontaneous fermentation yields what we believe to be true terroir, great complexity, and depth of flavour. If you choose to cellar this beer, it will age and develop for years to come.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in February 2018, Blend B. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy straw golden yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left some sparse spotty lacing.
Aroma: Tart, sour, lemon zest, lemon, light funk and oak with hints of stone fruit.
Taste: Sour, tart, lemon zest, light funk, brett and oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: It was nice, but it doesn’t have the complexity of the top Belgian Gueuze’s. Everything like the funkiness, brett and oak character just seemed a bit light and lacking in comparison. Having said that, if it was cheaper, I would still drink it, but at the moment for me, it is still a lot more expensive than 3F A&G for example. It would be an interesting experiment to age some bottles of this though.

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4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, The Lost Abbey, USA, Wild Ale

Lost Abbey Ghosts In The Forest

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Brewery: The Lost Abbey
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Oak-aged Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) There’s an aura of mystery that occurs when we close the doors to our barrel room. No one can say for sure what happens each night but it’s obvious there are spirits [ghosts if you will] working their magic. We’re not sure how many inhabit our oak forest. At present there are five large foeders and more than 1200 oak barrels for them to hide in, around, and behind. To this day, no one has managed to see one during the day but our night time brewers hear whispers and the sensation of unnerving drafts of wind arriving out of thin air. It’s as if the ghosts want to be seen or at a minimum acknowledged. After 11 years, we felt it was time to give them their due.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A corked and caged 12.7 fl. oz. bottle, with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden yellow colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly, but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, sour, oak, funky, peach, lightly vinous, white grape and lemon.
Taste: Tart, sour, white grape skin, peach, stone fruit, lemon, oak and light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate prickly carbonation.
Overall: Very nice with good aroma and flavours which just make it so easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brasserie Cantillon, Lambic - Unblended

Cantillon Iris

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Brewery: Brasserie Cantillon
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6.5%
Style: Belgian Lambic (Unblended)
Other Notes: Fresh hops, no wheat

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The Iris beer, a spontaneous fermentation beer made with pure malt, is really unique. It matures for two years in oak-wood casks and undergoes a natural second fermentation in the bottle afterwards. The fresh hops gives the beer a bitter flavour. This characteristic, combined with the absence of wheat, constitute the main difference between the Iris and the other Cantillon beers, that are made with Lambic. Keep and serve at a temperature of 12°-15°. To be drunk preferably within the 10 years after the bottling date.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled on 9th January 2018. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a one and a half finger off white head that dissipates fairly quickly to a thin layer, while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky barnyard, oak, apricot, grapefruit, citrus zest and rind.
Taste: Sour, lightly bitter, a hint of sweetness, funk, oak, apricot, peach, grapefruit zest, lemon and leather with a hint of floral and herbal.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Very enjoyable and great to drink. Even better when aged properly for a few years.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, USA, Wicked Weed Brewing, Wild Ale

Wicked Weed Omnipresence (Canvas Series)

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Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged American sour ale fermented with cabernet grapes

Brewer Description: (from bottle) When we got our hands on brand new Nadalie Foeders, we wanted to utilize their fresh oak character by taking advantage of the natural tannins in the French Oak. We thought, “What better way to pay homage to the craftsmanship of the French coopers than to incorporate the work of French vintners?” With this in mind, we rested one pound per gallon of whole Cabernet grapes in our Nadalie Foeders to produce a bold, acidic sour ale with a slightly dry crack that only freshly toasted French Oak can impart. The Cabernet grapes give the beer a balanced and Burgundian feel like no other.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.95
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml bottle, batch # 1129, bottled on 26th August 2016. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A cloudy murky brown colour with a very slight red tint, and a one finger light tanned head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, berries, cherry, grape, oak, vanilla, funk and lemon.
Taste: Tart, sour, vinous, mixed berries, lemon, with a hint of red wine, light oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice good flavours of fruit, wine and barrel.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, USA, Wicked Weed Brewing, Wild Ale

Wicked Weed Persistence (Canvas Series)

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Brewery: Wicked Weed Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Canvas Series. Barrel-aged American sour ale fermented with cherries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Persistence is a sour red ale aged in our foeder. One pound per gallon of Montmorency Cherries contributes a leathery accent to this Flanders-inspired ale. Once this beer reaches it’s peak, we blend the batch to attain the perfect balance of our house sour culture and North American cherries.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.76
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.6

Intro: A 500ml bottle of batch # 1122, bottled on 30th September 2016. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A murky brownish red colour with a one and a half finger off white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherries, mixed berries, light leather with a strange but interesting hit of cinnamon.
Taste: Very similar to the aroma, tart, sour, cherry, some mixed berries, oak, leather and cinnamon.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was quite interesting as I enjoyed the cherry flavours coming from it, and you don’t feel the 9% ABV at all, but the cinnamon that appears on the finish was just not really my thing. I don’t even know where the cinnamon like flavours come from…