Tag Archives: barrel aged

5 - Excellent (must buy), Beer Reviews, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., USA, Wild Ale

Firestone Walker Bretta Rosé

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Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 5.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 18-24 months maturation time in 100% French Oak barrels

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Thirty miles north of Barrelworks lies the fertile Santa Maria Valley. It’s warm days and cool marine layer-fed evenings allow for a cornucopia of fruits and vegetables to grow in its rich soil. One such offering is fresh locally grown raspberries, which we carefully select for Bretta Rosé. Bretta Weisse, fermented and matured in French oak barrels, serves as the foundation for this gem. Add an abundance of fresh raspberries, allow a secondary wild fermentation and further maturation, and voila! The result is a crisp effervescent concoction bursting with raspberry perfume and flavor, bracing acidity, underlying funk, and a clean refreshing finish. A santé!

My rating: 5
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.65
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.5

Intro: On tap at Firestone Walker The Propagator, Venice. A 9 oz pour into a Firestone Barrelworks teku glass.
Appearance: It was a nice looking candy cherry red colour with minimal white head, but nice lacing.
Aroma: Very nice Lifesaver candy cherry and raspberries.
Taste: Tastes similar to the aroma with lots of cherry and raspberries. It is also lightly sour and tart with only hints of oak and funk.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Really good, just like sour candy. I could easily drink this all day.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Farmhouse Saison, Firestone Walker Brewing Co., USA

Firestone Walker Lil’ Opal

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Brewery: Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Country: USA
ABV: 6.1%
Style: Belgian Saison

Brewer Description: (from website) Our first 2013 blend from masterblender Jim Crooks! Lil’ Opal is a cunning blend of two-year-old American oak and eight-month-old French oak saisons. Both go through a secondary fermentation and maturation in barrels. This traditional Belgian farmhouse saison has notes of citrus and tropical fruit, a smooth mouthfeel, and tangy crisp finish. Round this all out with a little earthy funk and we have one refreshingly complex offering.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.33
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: On tap at Firestone Walker The Propagator, Venice. A 3oz taster pour into a mini snifter.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden colour with a two finger white head that had good retention and left nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, tangy, citrus orange, tropical peach and apricot.
Taste: Taste is similar to the aroma with tart, tangy, citrus and tropical fruit and a hint of funk.
Mouthfeel: Crisp, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Refreshing and crisp. Very easy to drink.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Holy Mountain Brewing Company, USA, Wild Ale

Holy Mountain Phosphene

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Brewery: Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Batch 2, 2017. Ale aged in oak barrels on apricots

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Phosphene was fermented in oak barrels using one of our captured native wild cultures. It was then transferred into oak puncheons and aged on apricots for a number of months. Refermented in the bottle with brettanomyces.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle at Holy Mountain Brewing, Batch 2, 2017 vintage. Poured into a mini snifter.
Appearance: A cloudy golden orange colour with a thin white head that dissipates quickly and leaves sparse to no lacing.
Aroma: Apricot, peach, canned peach juice and light tartness.
Taste: Tart, sour peach and apricot, with hints of oak.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: A nice and refreshing tart sour ale with nice peach and apricot fruitiness.

4 - Good (buy), Beer Reviews, Holy Mountain Brewing Company, USA, Wild Ale

Holy Mountain Corpse Reviver

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Brewery: Holy Mountain Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 5.4%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Sour ale aged on meyer lemon zest

Brewer Description: (from menu) Corpse Reviver was fermented entirely in oak and then transferred into 3rd use bourbon barrels on top of a large amount of meyer lemon zest and juice, where it aged for 3 months, keg conditioned with brett.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.27
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.2

Intro: On tap at Holy Mountain Brewing, Seattle. A 9oz pour into a mini snifter.
Appearance: A clear golden colour with a half finger white head, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Meyer lemon zest and citrus juice with subtle hints of bourbon, almost like a refreshing long island ice tea.
Taste: Lightly sour, lemon zest and juice.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to low carbonation.
Overall: Very nice and refreshing. Would love a bottle to age a year or two.

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

Bellwoods Motley Cru 2017

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Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 6.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 5th Anniversary release. Wild Ale with Passion Fruit. Blend of 1 and 2 year barrels

Brewer Description: (from website) Motley Cru is our anniversary release, with the only requirement being that the final beer must incorporate a blend of various barrels. This year’s edition is a wild ale with passion fruit blended from two mixed grain ales (containing pale ale barley malt, wheat, oats, and rye). Both new American oak barrels, and old use (wild ale program) barrels from Niagara and Prince Edward County provide an eclectic range of wild and local yeast strains, and several hundred kilos of passion fruit puree create a fantastic balance of old world sour flavours and bright tropical notes. Extra time spent conditioning in the bottle provides a lively carbonation.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.24
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.1

Intro: A 750ml bottle at the brewery, 2017 vintage, poured into a Bellwoods stemmed wine glass.
Appearance: A mostly clear golden straw colour with a thin white head that dissipated fairly quickly and left only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Sourish and tropical, passionfruit, apricot and pineapple.
Taste: Tart, sour, passionfruit and apricot with hints of lemon.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Light, refreshing and easy to drink.