Category Archives: Wild Ale

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing, Wild Ale

Mills Okay

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Brewery: Mills Brewing
Country: England
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Okay was made from a blend of two golden worts produced in April and August 2019. Fermentation took place in two ex Ross cider barrels and two white Burgundy barrels. Raw Scottish heather honey was added just prior to bottling. This provided sugar for conditioning as well as trapping the delicate earthy aromatics in the bottle. The resulting beer is relatively full-bodied with a surprisingly fluffy mouthfeel.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.98
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in November 2020, with a best before date of November 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A slightly hazy golden orange colour with a big almost three finger white head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Dusty, funky, white grape, apple cider, oak, hay, dried leaves with a twang of lemon zest.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, juicy, white wine vinous, grapefruit, minerals.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Not sure I get the honey, but this was just refreshing and enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing x Little Earth Project, Wild Ale

Mills x Little Earth Project Mire

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Brewery: Mills Brewing x Little Earth Project
Country: England
ABV: 7%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment. Little Earth Project is a small and unique brewery in the Suffolk countryside using a variety of sustainable practices to brew small batch, predominantly oak aged wild and sour beers

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Mire was brewed in August 2019 with LEP’s homegrown malt. It fermented for sixteen months in cider barrels with both brewer’s house cultures. The resulting beer was dry-hopped with whole leaf Goldings before seven months maturation in bottle.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.21
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in December 2020, with a best before date of December 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear dark orange copper colour with a big three finger white head that had good retention, while eventually settling to a nice fluffy cap, and leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Musty, dusty, funk, apple, pear, orange zest, with a splash of leather and peat.
Taste: Sweet and sour, apple, orange zest, orange sherbet, oak, leather, peat.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Definitely interesting because I wasn’t expecting the peat and nothing on the bottle indicated that there would be peat, although in retrospect, maybe the name ‘Mire’ was a hint. Looking for other info, it turns out the peat was from a cider barrel that previously held Laphroaig. In any case, the amount of peat was good and not overpowering, and complemented all the other flavours.

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

Oxbow First Fruits

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Brewery: Oxbow Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel-aged farmhouse ale with fruit. Production time: 12 months

Brewer Description: (from bottle) First Fruits is a mixed-fermentation farmhouse ale aged on cherries, raspberries, and strawberries.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.9
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 500ml bottle, bottled on 1st July 2021, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy strawberry pinkish red colour with a very thin light pinkish head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Jammy, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, oak, tart, an acetone and vinegar zing, with light funky notes.
Taste: Light sweetness, sour, tart, sharp, strawberry, raspberry, cherry, fruit vinegar, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Sharp, medium bodied, with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice fruitiness in the aroma and flavour, but the acidity was just a bit too sharp to be easily enjoyed.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Ireland, Land & Labour, Wild Ale

Land & Labour Cuvée L&L

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Brewery: Land & Labour
Country: Ireland
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Blend of wild ale and spontaneous beer aged in oak

Brewer Description: (from bottle) There are many threads that bind our beers together. Different brewing methods, different barrels, puncheons & foeders. Cuvée L&L is the perfect marriage of all those threads. A harmonious blend of 2-year-old coolship spontaneous beer & 3 year old wild beer. Blended & bottled in October 2019.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.05
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle, with a best before date of 25th January 2025. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen gueuze glass.
Appearance: A nice clear golden orange colour with a thin white head that dissipated quickly while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, light funk, oak, yellow stone fruit, with light citrus zesty notes.
Taste: Light sour, tart, stone fruit, citrus zest, lime juice, light funk, oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Balanced and refreshing to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, England, Mills Brewing x Nevel, Wild Ale

Mills x Nevel Dinkum

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Brewery: Mills Brewing x Nevel
Country: England
ABV: 5.5%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mills Brewing make beer with minimal modern intervention, relying on local wild yeast cultures and the influence of nature to ferment. Nevel Artisan Ales brew wild beer in Nijmegen with local, organic and foraged ingredients

Brewer Description: (from bottle) In April 2019 we brewed a rich, copper wort with locally picked blackberry leaves in the boil. Both brewery’s mixed cultures were used to ferment the wort in red wine barrels for 12 months. The resulting beer was blended with another reddish beer from August 2018. The beer was then dry hopped with whole leaf Huell Melon, Belma, Cascade and Citra.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.49
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle, bottled in April 2020, with a best before date of April 2030. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy copper colour with a big three finger beige head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, grape, unripe berries, leafy, earthy, lemon zest, with notes of caramel.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, grape, melon and berry notes, leafy, oak, citrusy, lemon zest.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Complex and balanced aroma and flavours just made it extremely easy drinking and enjoyable.