Category Archives: Wild Ale

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., USA, Wild Ale

Firestone Walker Agrestic

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Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: American Wild Red Ale. 82% French oak & 18% American oak

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Fittingly, Agrestic Ale begins its journey as DBA; the foundational beer first offered when Firestone Walker opened its doors in 1996. Oak barrels along with our proprietary collection of microflora act like a chrysalis process, transforming DBA into Agrestic Ale over the course of several months. The result is a synergistic blend of beer matured in French and American oak with signature flavors and aromas: wood-derived toast, lemon pith, and rosewood swirl on the nose and palate, followed by an amazing harmony of vanilla, coconut and Earl Grey tea. Dark cherries, caramel malt and spice round out its complexity and drinkability. The finish is crisp with a mouthwatering acidity and chewy tannins. A sante!

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 375ml corked and caged bottle. Batch No. 003, bottled on 5th July 2016. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A clear amber copper colour with a one finger tanned head that dissipated slowly while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, lemon, oak, vanilla and coconut.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, lemon, cherry, oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light to medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: Nice, enjoyable and great to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, USA, Wild Ale

Almanac Vanilla Cherry Dogpatch

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7.6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel. Barrel aged in oak

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour red ale aged in wine barrels with cherries and whole vanilla beans.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.46
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.4

Intro: A 375ml bottle, released in May 2017. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A lightly hazy pinkish orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet and tart cherry, vanilla, oak and red gummy candy.
Taste: Very similar to the aroma with sweet and tart cherry, vanilla, oak and a light citrus tang.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was really nice and enjoyable. The vanilla and oak mixed really well with the cherries.

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

Bruery Terreux Sans Pagaie

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Brewery: Bruery Terreux
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2017 vintage. Our kriek-inspired sour is made with Montmorency and Balaton cherries

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour Blonde Ale aged in oak barrels with cherries. Tart – piquant – up a kriek.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.25
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle, 2017 vintage. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A nice cloudy ruby red colour with a just over one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, cherry, oak and vanilla.
Taste: Like the aroma, sour, tart, cherry, oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice, refreshing acidity with great aromas and taste.

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

Bellwoods Jelly King Strawberry Rhubarb

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 5.6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Dry-Hopped Sour w/ strawberry and rhubarb

Brewer Description: (from website) This limited edition version of Jelly King includes a large dose of strawberry and rhubarb purees, blended on top of a mixed fermentation sour ale. In addition, we added a complimentary dose of Citra-Mosaic-Cascade in the dry hop. The result is juicy, sour, and bursting with jammy aroma and flavour that comes enrobed in a dusty rose hue. A classic combo served on top of a sour beer for your pleasure.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.41
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 500ml bottle with no bottled on or best before date, poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A cloudy guava pink colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly and left sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Sweet jelly fruitiness, strawberry, peach and apricot. Mixed berry instant jello.
Taste: Very juicy, moderate tartness, lightly sour. Strawberry, rhubarb, lemon and peaches.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Really tasty stuff, and I felt that the addition of strawberry, rhubarb and dry hopping improved upon the base beer Jelly King quite a bit. Perfect for a hot summer day.

4 - Good (buy), Almanac Beer Co., Beer Reviews, USA, Wild Ale

Almanac Valley Of The Heart’s Delight

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Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 7%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Sour blonde ale aged in wine barrels with apricots & strawberries

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.28
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: A 375ml bottle, released in February 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden yellow orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly to a ring around the glass that lingers and left some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Oak, strawberry, apricot, peach, tart mixed berries, with some funk, leather, straw and white wine.
Taste: Tart and tangy lemon, apricot and strawberry, followed by a touch of oak, vanilla, funk and leather.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate prickly carbonation.
Overall: It was very tasty and complex. I’m not usually too fond of wine barrel aging, but the addition of apricots and strawberries matched it well, and probably took it up a notch. Very enjoyable.