Category Archives: Brewer

Nevel x Tommie Sjef Twee

Brewery: Nevel x Tommie Sjef Wild Ales
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Batch #1. Wild blonde ale aged on oak barrels, collab with Tommie Sjef Wild Ales. Fruity, funky and mineral

Brewer Description: (from website) Man can only see himself when he mirrors himself in another person. When oneness divides itself in two, it results in a meeting of souls, the creation of something new, the incarnation of a child. Without the concept of two there is no together, without being together there is no Twee.

This collab with Tommie Sjef Wild Ales is a blend of a two-year-old beer from his barrelhouse blended with a young saison from our brewery. This blend was put back in barrels for a year until it was rich enough to be harvested. To finetune its balance we blended it for a second time with a young barrel-aged beer. Twee can therefore be seen as a double bière de coupage. It is a wonderfully rustic beer with outspoken fruity notes of orange, peach and apricot. Its taste profile is defined by aged hops and our wild house culture, offering a good dose of dried hay, damp cellar and mineral stone. There is a good balance between sour and bitter notes in the rich structure of this beer.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 375ml bottle, batch #1, bottled on 2nd October 2019, drink within 3 years. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, hay, straw, oak, apricot, orange, with a light but lasting leather and herbal notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, orange, grapefruit, apricot, hay, straw, oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Aroma wasn’t as good as the taste, but overall it was enjoyable and easy to drink.

The Ale Apothecary Sauvie

Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 8.10%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: A wild fermentation ale aged in wine barrels with hops grown on Sauvie Island

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Made of Mecca Grade Estate barley & rye malts and Crystal hops grown by Sauvie Island Hops on the farming island near Portland. We are honored to purchase and use all the Crystal hops that Jordan and Maya grow each year. 100% naturally carbonated with honey, and 100% Oregon. Unfiltered, open-fermented & barrel-aged.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 29th October 2019. 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 eventually settled to a thin fluffy cap, while leaving nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, peach, apricot, sweet grape, tangy, citrus, orange, oak.
Taste: Sour, tart, gummy candy like fruitiness, peach, apricot, grape, citrus, lemon, oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Really enjoyable and easy to drink, with great aromas and gummy candy like fruitiness in the flavour.

The Ale Apothecary Field Spirits

Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 9.33%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: A wild fermentation ale brewed with rye and honey, aged in wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Mecca Grade Estate Malt shares our vision of small family business and this beer is our celebration of what they do. Made of 4 different grains from their farm in Madras, we age this beer in fresh pinot noir barrels from Domaine Drouhin in the Willamette Valley. 100% naturally carbonated with honey, and 100% Oregon. Unfiltered, open-fermented & barrel-aged.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.99
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, bottled on 28th June 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy dark amber copper colour, with a thin khaki head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Light tartness, grape, dark fruit, plum, cherry, honey, oak, vanilla, and a splash of lime zest.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, grape, lightly vinous, caramel malt, lemon juice, honey, oak, with light rye spiciness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable, but carbonation was a little light for my liking.

The Ale Apothecary El Cuatro

Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 10.58%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 1206 bottles

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Wild fermentation ale brewed with honey, aged in wine & brandy barrels.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, brewed in November 2017, bottled on 1st November 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy deep amber orange colour, with a thin khaki head that dissipated fairly quickly, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Grape, oak, vanilla, brandy, lightly vinous, light funky, with a touch of citrus zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, oak, dried apricot, stone fruit, hay, honey, with light brandy and orange citrus notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Enjoyable complex aroma and flavours. A good sipper.

Bellwoods Grandma’s Boy Niagara Shiro Plums

Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 5.8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2018 vintage, wild ale blend w/ Niagara Shiro Plums. Barrel aged for 12-18 months

Brewer Description: (from website) The fourth iteration of our beloved Grandma’s Boy, this ‘wild ale’ was barrel aged in oak with various strains of wild yeasts and bacteria, and conditioned on a hefty bed of Niagara Shiro plums prior to bottle conditioning.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.97
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2018 vintage, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, stone fruit, plum, apricot, peach, light citrus, lemon zest, oak, honey, and a touch funky.
Taste: Sour, tart, plum, apricot, lemon juice, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good aroma and flavour, but the sour and tartness was on the verge of being too much, that it wasn’t entirely comfortable on the palate.