Monthly Archives: October 2018

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

The Ale Apothecary Sahalie – Fresh Hop

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Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 9.45%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Fresh hop. Mixed fermentation ale brewed with honey, aged in wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from tag on bottle) our infamous shield maiden. (* wild & open fermented in the woods of OR. * Mecca Grade Estate Malt + wheat + Goschie Farms hops. * barrel-aged over a year & dry-hopped in oak. * OR honey + sour wort + our yeast = 100% natural carbonation from bottle fermentation.)

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.42
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked bottle, batch bottled on 13th November 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Funk, brett, oak, pineapple, lightly tart, grapefruit zest and hints of apricot.
Taste: Lightly tart, lightly sour, oak, apricot, stone fruit, a touch herbal and a hint of pineapple.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice. I liked this even more than the original base version.

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

The Ale Apothecary Sahalie

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Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 9.32%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mixed fermentation ale aged in wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from tag on bottle) our infamous shield maiden. (* wild & open fermented in the woods of OR. * Mecca Grade Estate Malt + wheat + Goschie Farms hops. * barrel-aged over a year & dry-hopped in oak. * OR honey + sour wort + our yeast = 100% natural carbonation from bottle fermentation.)

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.34
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 750ml corked bottle, batch bottled on 7th July 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy golden orange colour with a big three finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly but left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funk, brett, grapefruit zest, lemon zest, orange and pineapple with hints of apricot.
Taste: Tart, sour, pineapple, apricot, grapefruit zest and a touch of oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Very nice aroma and taste. There was a light booze on the finish that was barely noticeable, which I guess shouldn’t be too surprising that it was there, given it was more than 9% ABV, but it’s these little things that knocked it down a fraction or two.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij ‘t Verzet, Flanders Oud Bruin

Verzet Whole Lotta Bluebs

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Brewery: Brouwerij ‘t Verzet
Country: Belgium
ABV: 6%
Style: Belgian Flanders Oud Bruin
Other Notes: Oud Bruin with Wild Maine Blueberries. Oud Bluebs. Ale brewed for Novare Res Bier Café’s 10th Anniversary

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This beer is a collaboration with Novare Res, a revolutionary and one of the most imPortland beer bars of the New World. On a hectic, snowy day we gathered in our barrel room to carefully select the blend for the collaboration. We added dried blueberries from Maine and let them ferment in the chosen barrels for 2 months. The result is a red-brown, purplish sour beer with a very fruity taste and woody nose. Be our guest and enjoy the Maine offerings from Verzet and Novare Res.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 375ml bottle, Bluebs ’18, with a best before date of 14th February xxxx (the rest was smudged off). Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A dark brown colour with a reddish orange hue and a one finger off white head that disappeared almost immediately and left no lacing.
Aroma: Light funk, barrel, tart and mixed dark berries.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, oak, blueberry skin, blueberries, mixed berries, with light funk and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice and enjoyable. The aroma while not bad, came through a little weak at times, especially the fruit. No such problems with the taste, which was a good balance of sour and blueberries.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, The Bruery (Bruery Terreux), USA, Wild Ale

Bruery Terreux Tart Of Darkness with Black Currants

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Brewery: The Bruery (Bruery Terreux)
Country: USA
ABV: 6.2%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2018 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Stout aged in oak barrels with black currants added. Ripe – roasty – jammy.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.38
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle, 2018 vintage, bottled on 4th January 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A dark brown cola colour with a two finger dark tanned head that had decent retention and left some stringy lacing.
Aroma: Tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, light roast, cocoa, coffee and oak.
Taste: Pretty much what you would expect from the aroma, sour, tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, light roast, cocoa, chocolate and coffee.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: I love blackcurrant and the great thing is that it is very prominent here. I think because of the blackcurrant, I actually enjoy this better than the original version. Great balance of sour, fruits and roast.