Category Archives: Wild Ale

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Insight Cellars, Wild Ale

Insight Cellars Sunstead: Apricot

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Brewery: Insight Cellars
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Danish Wild Ale with fresh apricots. 2023 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our Sunstead series captures the essence of perfectly ripe stone fruits, allowing us to savor the warm flavors of summer all year long. The base beer is a blend of one, two and three-year-old Danish Wild Ales aged in Chardonnay and Monbazillac barrels. We racked this onto freshly destoned and crushed Bergeron apricots at a rate of over 600 grams of apricots per liter, and left it to macerate with the fruit for over a month before bottling. This complex, soft and juicy beer tastes almost like biting into a fragrant apricot, transporting you back to the high days of summer no matter when you drink it.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.04

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2023 vintage, bottled on 21st November 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a one finger white head that had good retention, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, apricot, light funk, with a splash of orange zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, apricot, orange zest, lemon, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good aroma and flavours, but didn’t seem as ‘ripe’ as White Peach and White Nectarine, as the sour intensity was quite a bit more with Apricot.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Insight Cellars, Wild Ale

Insight Cellars Pot & Column Kriek

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Brewery: Insight Cellars
Country: Denmark
ABV: 7.6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Danish Wild Ale with cherries aged in Barbados rum barrels. 2021 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Named for the unique dual distillation method used to make Barbados rum, this beer is a blend of 75% Danish Wild Ale aged in Barbados rum barrels for two years and 25% two-year-old Danish Wild Ale macerated with a generous dose of whole Stevnsbær cherries. These special barrels from the birthplace of Caribbean rum infused our Danish Wild Ale with notes of coconut, caramel and citrus, which pair beautifully with the complex dark fruit and marzipan flavors of Denmark’s signature Stevnsbær cherries from Frederiksdal Estate.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2021 vintage, bottled on 21st June 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A deep red colour with a slight purple tinge, and a one finger pink head that had good retention, that eventually settled to a thin cap, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, cherry, cherry pie, oak, caramel, with a splash of lemon zest.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherries, caramel, oak, light funk, with a finish that is of bitter grapefruit.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good cherry in the aroma and flavour, while the bitter grapefruit on the finish is interesting, it actually works for me, and I enjoyed it.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Belgium, Brouwerij Alvinne, Wild Ale

Alvinne Sour’ire de Mortagne Barrel 58

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Brewery: Brouwerij Alvinne
Country: Belgium
ABV: 11%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2017 vintage, Alvinne limited edition, single cask, 700 bottles. French oak, Margaux barrel. Morpheus yeast inside

Brewer Description: (from bottle in Dutch) Barrel 58 is een uniek project waar we enkel zelfgeplukte bessen toevoegen aan sour’ire rechtstreeks op het eiken vat. Passie, toewijding en kennis… Barrel 58 6 maand gerijpt op een Margaux barrel. Sleedoorn (Moen), braambessen (Bottelare), bosbessen (Wales), Anna Spat pruimen, opal pruimen (Sint-Laureins).

(translated to English) Barrel 58 is a unique project where we only add self-picked berries to Sour’ire directly on the oak barrel. Passion, dedication and knowledge… Barrel 58 6 months matured on a Margaux barrel. Sloe (Moen), blackberries (Bottelare), blueberries (Wales), Anna Spat plums, opal plums (Sint-Laureins).

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

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2017 vintage, poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A copper dark brown colour with an orange tinge, and a very thin beige head that dissipated almost immediately, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, mixed berries, plum, balsamic vinegar, caramel, lemon, dusty wood.
Taste: Sour, tart, mixed berries, raspberry, plum, balsamic vinegar, caramel, lemon, wood.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Overall: Nice complex flavours with the alcohol well hidden. The acidity was quite high, but never too much. Intense, but enjoyable.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Netherlands, Tommie Sjef Wild Ales, Wild Ale

Tommie Sjef Kriek

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Brewery: Tommie Sjef Wild Ales
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 6.6%
Style: Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Beer fermented and aged in wooden barrels with sour cherries.

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

Intro: A 750ml corked and capped bottle with a best before date of 12th June 2026 (5 years). Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A deep red colour with a slight orange tint, and a one finger pinkish head that had good retention and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherries, cherry stem, blood orange, with notes of wood and almond.
Taste: Sour, tart, cherries, cherry stem, fruit vinegar, lemon, with cinnamon and woody notes.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Some nice sour cherry and barrel flavours.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Denmark, Insight Cellars, Wild Ale

Insight Cellars Sunstead: White Nectarine

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Brewery: Insight Cellars
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.6%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Danish Wild Ale with fresh white nectarines. 2023 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our Sunstead series captures the essence of perfectly ripe stone fruits, allowing us to savor the warm flavors of summer all year long. The base beer is a blend of one, two and three-year-old Danish Wild Ales aged in Chardonnay and Monbazillac barrels. We racked this onto freshly destoned and crushed white nectarines at a rate of over 600 grams of nectarines per liter, and left it to macerate with the fruit for over a month before bottling. This complex, soft and juicy beer tastes almost like biting into a fragrant nectarine, transporting you back to the high days of summer no matter when you drink it.

My rating: 4+
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle, 2023 vintage, bottled on 19th October 2023. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour, with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to nothing, while leaving only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Freshly cut extremely ripe juicy nectarines, peaches, and apricots.
Taste: Sour, tart, nectarine, peach, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: The aroma of those white nectarines were perfectly ripe and although it wasn’t quite there with the taste, it was still good and enjoyable.