Category Archives: Wild Ale

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

Victory Sour Monkey

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Brewery: Victory Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 9.5%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) This electrifying transformation of our famed Golden Monkey may just blow your mind. Tastefully twisted to offer nuances of sweet fruit and a sharp tang of tartness, this exhilarating combination of flavors makes this brew a Monkey all its own. Respect the Monkey and taste Victory!

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.74
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.5

Intro: A 1 pint 9.4 fl. oz. corked and caged bottle, bottled on 1st July 2015… wow, pulled from the cellar just over 3 years old. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy light copper colour with a less than half finger white head that disappeared almost immediately while leaving behind some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, grape, prunes, plum, apple and lemon with maybe some light funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, grape, prunes, lemon and apple cider.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Not bad, but there didn’t seem to be much complexity to it. Not getting much funk or wood. It was just straight sour and fruit. I was very surprised that it was 9.5% ABV though, as it did not feel anywhere near that at all.

4 - Good (buy), 8 Wired Brewing Co., Beer Reviews, New Zealand, Wild Ale

8 Wired Snake Charmer

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Brewery: 8 Wired Brewing Co.
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 7.7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Barrel aged Sour Ale with blackcurrants. 2017 vintage

Brewer Description: (from bottle) A sour ale brewed the traditional way. Aged in Pinot Noir barrels for two years with Blackcurrants and a bunch of microbes, creating a complex melange of funk, fruit and tartness.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.11
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2017 vintage, with a best before date of 19th February 2026. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear reddish orange colour with an almost three finger slightly off white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Lightly tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, oak, vanilla and funk.
Taste: Pretty much exactly what you get in the aroma, sour and tart, blackcurrant, Ribena, mixed berries, oak, vanilla and funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with spritzy moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Great fruit flavours with strong barrel character. Just really good to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Bellwoods Brewery, Canada, Wild Ale

Bellwoods Jelly King Guava Mango Passionfruit

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 5.6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Dry-Hopped Sour w/ Guava, Mango & Passionfruit

Brewer Description: (from website) He is a ruler, an overlord, a top dog, a crowned head. In the richly varied domain of prokaryotic microorganisms, Jelly King reigns supreme. Rather than choosing between sour or hoppy, we decided to create a beer that would be both at the same time. Showcasing the aromatic benefits of a generous dry hop (Citra, Amarillo, and Cascade), harnessing the pleasing acidity of lactic acid producing bacteria (we use a 5-strain house blend), and coming to a bottle near you without a pesky 2 year slumber in oak, Jelly King is the fermented embodiment of having your cake and eating it too. This limited edition version includes a large dose of three tropical fruits that we hold near and dear to our hearts – adding explosive aromas and flavours of tropical fruit and a deep hazy orange hue.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.32
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 500ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly and left pretty much no lacing.
Aroma: Jello fruits, tart, guava, passionfruit, mango with light grapefruit zest and ginger.
Taste: Sour, tart and juicy. Guava, passionfruit, grass, light grapefruit zest and citrus peel.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Another great Jelly King variant from Bellwoods. I’m loving this dry hopping and addition of fruits to the base Jelly King. Just so refreshing.

3 - Indifferent (might buy, probably drink), Beer Reviews, The Ale Apothecary, USA, Wild Ale

The Ale Apothecary Carpe Diem Mañana

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Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Wild fermentation ale brewed in wine barrels with lots of hops

Brewer Description: (from tag on bottle) Carpe Diem Mañana – change the world with imagination – idle time is necessary for creative thinking. (* wild & open fermented in oak barrels. * dry-hopped with whole flower hops. * drink fresh for hops, age for an experiment. * 100% naturally carbonated in this bottle.)

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.79
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 750ml bottle, batch bottled on July 22nd 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy copper orange colour with a big almost three finger off white head that had pretty good retention while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, citrus orange, orange rind, funk, with hints of tropical mango, pineapple, grassy and floral.
Taste: Tart, sour, citrusy orange peel, orange, funk, oak with some light floral and grass and maybe some apricots.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Quite nice, but not quite as good as the other Ale Apothecary beers that I’ve tried so far.

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

The Ale Apothecary The Beer Formerly Known As La Tache

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Brewery: The Ale Apothecary
Country: USA
ABV: 7.35%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Mixed fermentation ale aged in wine barrels

Brewer Description: (from tag on bottle) the beer formerly known as La Tache. (* wild & open fermented in the woods of OR. * Mecca Grade Estate Malt + wheat + Goshie Farms hops. * barrel-ages 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 bottle, batch bottled on June 23rd 2017. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a big almost three finger white head that had good retention and left lots of nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, peach, apricot, oak, funk and citrusy lemon.
Taste: Tart and sour, stone fruit, peach, apricot, white grape, oak, funk and lemon.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and refreshing with good complex flavours.