Tag Archives: oh what a lovely day let’s go out and pick some…

Garage Project Oh What a Lovely Day Let’s Go Out and Pick Some… Blackberry

Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 7.4%
Style: Wild Ale
Other Notes: Foraged flowers, spontaneous ferment 2020 release

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The concept is simple. Freshly foraged blackberry flowers are plunged into a light golden wort creating a spontaneous fermentation using only the wild yeast present on flowers. Aged in oak and refermented on blackberry fruit, the result is a delightfully tart, vibrant red sparkling beer bursting with wild berry flavour.

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

Intro: A 375ml bottle, bottled on 16th September 2020. Poured into a Tilquin stemmed glass.
Appearance: A nice clear red colour with a slight purple hue, and a one finger white head that had decent retention and settled to a ring around the glass, while leaving some lacing.
Aroma: Funky, tart, blackberry, oak, with notes of lemon zest.
Taste: Much like the aroma, funky, tart, blackberry, apricot, oak, and lemon juice.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: This was good. I’m not sure how much the blackberry flowers actually contributed, but the blackberry fruit came through nicely, and there was balance between the funk, sourness and acidity.

Garage Project Oh What A Lovely Day Let’s Go Out And Pick Some… Hop Bine

Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 6.8%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Foraged flowers, spontaneous ferment no.5

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The latest release in our ongoing series of foraged flower ferments. For this brew, freshly harvested whole bines were plunged into a light golden base wort creating a spontaneous fermentation using only the wild yeast present on the hops. The beer was then allowed to age and develop for a year in oak barrels before being infused with another dose of fresh hops from the next harvest. The result of this brewery outing is a complex yet clean citrus like sour, bursting with a delightful fresh hop aroma.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.09
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 23rd May 2019. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A clear golden straw colour with a two finger white head that had decent retention, while leaving some nice lacing.
Aroma: Sour, tart, light funk, lychee, apricot, and white grapes.
Taste: Sour, tart, white grape, apricot, citrus notes, leafy, and a touch of vinegar.
Mouthfeel: A touch acidic, light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Although maybe slightly on the acidic side, the nose and taste were enjoyable.

Garage Project Oh What a Lovely Day Let’s Go Out and Pick Some… Elder

Brewery: Garage Project
Country: New Zealand
ABV: 6.6%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: Foraged flowers, spontaneous ferment no.3

Brewer Description: (from bottle) The latest release in our Wild Workshop Wildflower series. The concept is simple. Freshly foraged wild flowers are plunged into a light golden base wort of pilsner, raw wheat and rye creating a spontaneous fermentation using only the wild yeast present on flowers. The beer is then allowed to age and develop in oak barrels. Fermented with wild foraged Elderflowers and conditioned in the barrel with Elderberry, the result of this brewery outing is a delightfully tart sparkling beer with a distinctly pink berry hue.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.16
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 750ml bottle, bottled on 18th October 2018. Poured into a 3 Fonteinen stemmed glass.
Appearance: A hazy golden orange colour with a two finger white head that dissipated fairly quickly while leaving some sparse lacing.
Aroma: Tart, light funk, apricot, peach, oak, and a touch of lemon.
Taste: Tart, lightly sour, funk, apricot, peach, oak, with touches of lemon and vinegar.
Mouthfeel: Medium to light bodied with moderate to soft carbonation.
Overall: A nice easy drinking Wild Ale. Elderflower and elderberry were added but it was largely stone fruit forward, so I assume this comes from elderberry. On the other hand, the floral aspect from elderflower was just not there, or simply overpowered when compared to other elderflower beers.