Tag Archives: oak barrel aged

Nevel x Tommie Sjef Twee

Brewery: Nevel x Tommie Sjef Wild Ales
Country: Netherlands
ABV: 5.8%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Batch #1. Wild blonde ale aged on oak barrels, collab with Tommie Sjef Wild Ales. Fruity, funky and mineral

Brewer Description: (from website) Man can only see himself when he mirrors himself in another person. When oneness divides itself in two, it results in a meeting of souls, the creation of something new, the incarnation of a child. Without the concept of two there is no together, without being together there is no Twee.

This collab with Tommie Sjef Wild Ales is a blend of a two-year-old beer from his barrelhouse blended with a young saison from our brewery. This blend was put back in barrels for a year until it was rich enough to be harvested. To finetune its balance we blended it for a second time with a young barrel-aged beer. Twee can therefore be seen as a double bière de coupage. It is a wonderfully rustic beer with outspoken fruity notes of orange, peach and apricot. Its taste profile is defined by aged hops and our wild house culture, offering a good dose of dried hay, damp cellar and mineral stone. There is a good balance between sour and bitter notes in the rich structure of this beer.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.77
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 375ml bottle, batch #1, bottled on 2nd October 2019, drink within 3 years. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that had pretty good retention, and left some nice lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, hay, straw, oak, apricot, orange, with a light but lasting leather and herbal notes.
Taste: Lightly sour, tart, funky, orange, grapefruit, apricot, hay, straw, oak.
Mouthfeel: Light to medium bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: Aroma wasn’t as good as the taste, but overall it was enjoyable and easy to drink.

Bellwoods Grandma’s Boy Niagara Shiro Plums

Brewery: Bellwoods Brewery
Country: Canada
ABV: 5.8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2018 vintage, wild ale blend w/ Niagara Shiro Plums. Barrel aged for 12-18 months

Brewer Description: (from website) The fourth iteration of our beloved Grandma’s Boy, this ‘wild ale’ was barrel aged in oak with various strains of wild yeasts and bacteria, and conditioned on a hefty bed of Niagara Shiro plums prior to bottle conditioning.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.97
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.8

Intro: A 500ml bottle, 2018 vintage, poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden straw yellow colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, stone fruit, plum, apricot, peach, light citrus, lemon zest, oak, honey, and a touch funky.
Taste: Sour, tart, plum, apricot, lemon juice, oak, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Good aroma and flavour, but the sour and tartness was on the verge of being too much, that it wasn’t entirely comfortable on the palate.

Trillium Lineage Wheat – Double Raspberry

Brewery: Trillium Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 6.7%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: American Wild Saison with raspberry aged in oak barrels. Lineage series. Hops – US Goldings. Malts – Pilsner, Valley Wheat and Flaked Wheat. Adjunct – Raspberries

Brewer Description: (from website) The latest edition of our New England Wild Saison series features a double dose of raspberry and a generous amount of local wheat from Valley Malt in Hadley, Massachusetts. The beautiful red hue gives way to aromas of fresh raspberries, dark cherries, and a touch of funk from our Native New England mixed culture. The amplified quantity of fruit we used in the process intensifies the notes of raspberry jam and tart cranberry that highlight the single raspberry version of this beer. Slight floral character and a light, drinkable body give Double Raspberry Lineage Wheat added nuance and approachability.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.87
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 5th July 2018. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy maroon red colour with a two finger slightly pinkish head that dissipated quickly to a ring around the glass, while leaving sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, jammy, raspberry, with slight cherry notes.
Taste: Sour, tart, probably overly so. Raspberry, jammy, cranberry, red currant, acidic, with a touch of citrusy lemon on the finish.
Mouthfeel: Acidic, sharp, intense, medium to light bodied with moderate to high carbonation.
Overall: Loved the jammy aroma, and although the taste had notes of this jammy flavours coming through, it was overwhelmed by sharp and intense, sour and tartness, that made it uncomfortable on the palate. I preferred the regular Lineage Wheat – Raspberry, which had the same jammy notes, but was much more balanced than this Double Raspberry.

Trillium Lineage Rye – Orange Muscat

Brewery: Trillium Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 10.1%
Style: Farmhouse Saison – Fruit
Other Notes: American Wild Saison aged in oak casks. Lineage series. Hops – US Goldings and Aged Hops. Malts – Pilsner, Valley Danko Rye and Flaked Wheat

Brewer Description: (from website) Our series of New England saisons continues with Orange Muscat Lineage Rye, a wild ale featuring Valley Malt Danko Rye. This Polish rye grain provides a soft earth and spice malt backbone to compliment the complex characteristics derived from aging in oak barrels with our native New England mixed culture and well aged hops. The Orange Muscat version of Lineage Rye has a light straw hue and engaging floral and vinous aromatics on the nose with a hint of kiwi and mild brett-derived farmhouse funk. The palate develops the nose further, emerging with orange zest, young white wine and a suggestion of honeysuckle nectar. Mature, soft oak melds with a faint rye spice on the finish with a refreshing light acidity and a zippy, tight carbonation.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.68
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.4

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 17th May 2018. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly, while leaving only sparse lacing.
Aroma: Vinous, oak, grape skin, citrus zesty, funk.
Taste: Sour, tart, vinous, orange, orange zest, white wine grape, oak, spicy, light funk.
Mouthfeel: Rich, medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Aroma and flavours were not bad, but the richness of the vinous and orange was a bit overwhelming for my palate, and just not so easy to drink.

Trillium Lineage Wheat

Brewery: Trillium Brewing Company
Country: USA
ABV: 7.9%
Style: Farmhouse Saison
Other Notes: American Wild Saison aged in oak casks. Lineage series. Hops – US Goldings. Malts – Pilsner, Valley Wheat and Flaked Wheat

Brewer Description: (from website) The first edition in our Lineage series of farmhouse ales features local wheat from Valley Malt in Hadley, Massachusetts. Bright, clear, and straw-yellow in appearance, Lineage Wheat invites with a complex nose of grassy funk, crisp citrus rind, pepper, and floral white wine. Starting mildy tart, yet not sour, this approachable saison follows through with flavors of earth, musky funk, woody-oak, light wheat, and some balancing, tangy, citrus character. Lineage Wheat is beautifully light in body and dry on the palate.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.03
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 330ml bottle, bottled on 13th April 2018. Poured into a Holy Mountain tulip glass.
Appearance: A hazy straw yellow colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention but settled to a thin cap, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Tart, funky, oak, vanilla, apricot, and light citrus rind notes.
Taste: Lightly tart and tangy, citrusy, grapefruit, lemon, funky, oak, with notes of yellow stone fruit and wheat.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Easy drinking, not exactly Saison like, but it has nice aroma and flavours.