Category Archives: Wild Ale

Samuel Adams (Barrel Room Collection) Stony Brook Red

Brewery: Boston Beer Company
Country: USA
ABV: 9%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: A unique Belgian Style Red with a hint of tart, fruit and toasted oak character

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Distinctive and enticing, this unique and utterly complex brew builds from the inspiration of Flemish reds. It begins with an earthy sourness and hints of dark fruit but the tartness gives way to a rich maltiness and touch of toasted oak. These flavors are rounded and deepened by the barrel aging for a layered & alluring brew. One of our brewers’ favorite places to experiment is in the barrel room at our Boston Brewery. It’s here that each of our Samuel Adams Barrel Room Collection brews was born.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.5
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.2

Intro: A 1pt 9.4 fl oz corked and caged bottle with a best before date of 1st October 2017. Poured into a Lost Abbey teku glass.
Appearance: A dark ruby reddish brown colour with a big three finger light tanned head that had decent retention and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Fruity tart cherry, red berries, grape, plum, caramel and a touch of vinegar.
Taste: Much less fruit than the aroma, sour, tart, cherry, plum, oak, alcohol and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied and highly (overly) carbonated.
Overall: Taste was decent but I think its fruitiness was definitely affected by the harshness of the carbonation, which I felt mellowed it, when compared to the aroma. For me, the problem all stemmed from the harshness of the carbonation when swallowing, which I thought was way more than even any soda that I’ve drank before. If toned down a bit, I think that I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

samuel-adams-barrel-room-collection-stony-brook-red-3

Almanac Peach de Brettaville

Brewery: Almanac Beer Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Farm to barrel

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Farmhouse ale aged in wine barrels with peaches.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled in November 2015, and poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a cloudy golden straw orange colour with a one finger white head that dissipated quickly and left only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Tart, mildly funky, light oak with some peach, pineapple and lemon. Think along the lines of sour peach ring gummy candy.
Taste: Sour and tangy with only light funkiness. Fruity peach with a sharp citrus lemon and orange peel flavour and acidity. There is also a touch of vinegar, white wine and earthy oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: This is good. A very nice sour from Almanac that is tasty and easy to drink.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

almanac-peach-de-brettaville-3

Crooked Stave Petite Sour Pure Guava

Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Style: American Wild Ale

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Mixed fermentation ale aged in oak with tropical fruits.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.13
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 375ml bottle bottled in August 2015, poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy golden colour with a less than one finger white head that dissipated almost immediately and leaves only sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Funk, sour, tartness and oak. Tropical fruit, mostly guava, passionfruit and mango.
Taste: Sour, tart and funky. Fruit is a bit light, but its there. Citrus lemon followed by some tropical guava and grapes. Lightly oaky on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Nice tart sourness but the fruit especially guava (since that is in the name) was on the light side.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

crooked-stave-petite-sour-pure-guava-3

Prairie Funky Gold Simcoe

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 7.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Dry hopped sour ale.

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

Intro: A 16.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 02516, meaning it was bottled on 25th January 2016. Poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy straw golden yellow colour with a close to two finger white head that dissipates slowly and eventually settles to an extremely thin cap and leaves sparse lacing.
Aroma: Strong tropical fruit aromas with passion fruit, unripe mango and apricot followed by a touch of citrusy tangy lemon and mandarin plus funky goodness.
Taste: Lightly sour followed by lots of tropical and citrus fruitiness. Apricot, mango, peach, passion fruit, tangy mandarin, lemon and a restrained but nice barnyard funkiness on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light to medium bodied with high prickly carbonation.
Overall: A very well made dry hopped sour ale. Lots of tropical and citrus fruitiness in both the aroma and taste with a restrained sourness and funkiness. Would love to drink this again.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

prairie-funky-gold-simcoe-3

Crooked Stave Origins

Brewery: Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Burgundy sour ale aged in oak barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Our hommage to the history of barrel-aging and those who have influenced us along the way.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.18
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 375ml bottle from batch #5, bottled in May 2015, and poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a clear but dark burgundy reddish brown colour with a one finger beige head that had decent retention and left spotty lacing.
Aroma: Fruity grape, red wine, blackberries and cherries. Lightly tart with hints of oak.
Taste: Sour and tart, fruity grape, cherry and red wine with a touch of lemon, oak and vanilla.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Nice, balanced and easy to drink.

SONY DSC

SONY DSC

crooked-stave-origins-3