Tag Archives: Wild Ale

Hof Ten Dormaal Inferno

Brewery: Brouwerij Hof Ten Dormaal
Country: Belgium
ABV: 10%
Style: Euro Sour Ale
Other Notes: Sugar was added

Brewer Description: (from bottle) On 6 January 2015, the owners of Belgian brewery Hof ten Dormaal in Tildonk, Belgium, saw their worst nightmare come true.

The brewery was completely destroyed by fire. The entire bottling line, hot room and most of the stock were burned to the ground.

Miraculously, a very small portion of our stock survived. This very special, limited edition beer is a blend of all that was salvageable from that disaster. We promise it will be far from the last from us…

And now, after months of hard work and dedication, we proudly present to you this very special limited edition beer.

My rating: 2
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.86
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.7

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of February 2018, poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy reddish copper colour with a one finger off white head that had good retention and left some curtain like lacing.
Aroma: Simply, its sweet BBQ. There’s smoke and char mixed in with cherry and berries and maybe even a hint of peat.
Taste: Its sour and sweet with fruity cherry, raisins and red wine with a mix of smoke, char and peat. But I think the aromas is affecting my tasting, and I’m getting charred crispy bacon and bbq every now and then.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: Its just so different to any other beer I’ve tried. I can understand that its largely either you like it or don’t like it beer with not much middle ground. The aromas make it quite savoury to my palate and not exactly what I’m looking for in beer. The taste was slightly better than the aroma, but the aromas is so strong that it does become quite a big factor. The 10% abv is however, well hidden. I think in the end, I finished the bottle, but its not something I’d purchase again.

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Amager x Crooked Stave Chad, King of the Wild Yeasts

Brewery: Amager Bryghus x Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project
Country: Denmark
ABV: 5%
Style: Euro Sour Ale
Other Notes: Malts – Pilsner, Carapils and Flaked Oats. Hops – Simcoe, Mosaic, Citra and Amarillo. Yeast – Brett CMY.

Brewer Description: (from bottle) After long years of beer geek discussing hops to exhaustion, now yeast is finally getting a glimpse of the spotlight. This tiny little creature has for way too long been leading a Batman-like existence: outcast, living in the shadows and not getting enough credit for his work. However, the importance of fermentation is no news to Chad Michael Yakobsen from Colorado’s Crooked Stave brewery. He has been fondling with various fermenting agents for longer than most people have been drinking. So it was on a beautiful spring day that Mr. Yakobsen came to Amager to bombard us simpletons with his knowledge on all things yeasty, and especially, bretty. However, due to stubbornness from our end, we still insisted the brew to carry a mother#&@ of hops. The answer to what ingredient won the battle lies within this bottle. But in our opinion, we are all winners.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.02
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.9

Intro: A 500ml bottle, batch no. 1102, best before July 2016 and poured into a Cantillon ballon glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy pale straw yellow colour with a one finger fluffy white head that dissipates to a thin frothy layer and leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Strong barnyard funky, brett, sweat and hay with lots of fruit, mango, lemon, pear, pineapple, orange, passion fruit and tartness.
Taste: Like the aroma, lots of fruit with lemon, lime, orange pith and grapefruit. Some graininess and bread, hay, grass, floral and funky. Also a hint of bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Dry, light bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: I preferred the aroma over the taste but still a nice funky, bretty ale.

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Wild Waves Surleim Amarillo

Brewery: Wild Waves Brewing Co.
Country: South Korea
ABV: 5.3%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 22 IBUs. aka Surleim 2. Contract brewed at Akitu Brewing (South Korea)

Brewer Description: (from menu at Wild Waves Brewing Co. bar) Dry hopped sour with Amarillo.

My rating: 3
My beeradvocate.com rating: 3.8
My ratebeer.com rating: 3.7

Intro: On tap at Wild Waves Brewing Co. (Busan, South Korea) into a tall tulip glass.
Appearance: It arrived a clear-ish dark gold colour with a two finger white head that dissipated quickly but left nice lacing.
Aroma: Light subtle aromas of tart sour green apple and banana.
Taste: Sour green apple, apricot, lemon and a light funk.
Mouthfeel: Light bodied with moderate carbonation.
Overall: Crisp and easy to drink. A nice South Korean sour beer.

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Cascade Noyaux

– Note: Apologies for the dark photos.
– 8th June 2016 edit: Found some much better and clearer photos on my phone.

Brewery: Cascade Brewing
Country: USA
ABV: 9.29%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 2014 project

Brewer Description: (from bottle) Noyaux is a blend of sour Blond ales aged in oak wine barrels for up to 24 months with fresh raspberries and apricot noyaux.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.44
My ratebeer.com rating: 4.3

Intro: A 750ml corked and caged bottle from 2014 project, poured into a To Øl teku glass.
Appearance: It poured a slightly hazy strawberry red colour with a half finger white head that dissipates fairly quickly but leaves nice lacing.
Aroma: Funk, oak, raspberries, lemon and a hint of apricot.
Taste: Sour, tart, oak, raspberry and strawberry.
Mouthfeel: Dry, medium bodied with high carbonation.
Overall: Very nice funk, easy to drink and definitely does not feel like 9.29% abv. I did not know what apricot noyaux was but apparently it is from apricot kernels. I guess this explained the lack of apricot I was expecting in the taste.

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Prairie Prairie Gold

Brewery: Prairie Artisan Ales
Country: USA
ABV: 6.5%
Style: American Wild Ale
Other Notes: 15 IBUs. Brewed and bottled by Krebs Brewing Co., Krebs, Oklahoma.

Brewer Description: (from website) Prairie Gold is a dry, highly effervescent saison fermented with a mix of ale yeast, wine yeast, lactobacillus and 2 strains of brettanomyces. This beer highlights the various yeasts and bacteria used to make it. Lemon, pear, white wine grapes and a touch of funk dominate the flavor and aroma in this champagne like beer.

My rating: 4
My beeradvocate.com rating: 4.06
My ratebeer.com rating: 4

Intro: A 16.9 fl oz (500ml) bottle with a Julian bottled on date of 13815, meaning it was bottled on 18th May 2015. There was lots of warning that this was likely to be a gusher, so I was very careful opening this. Luckily this opened as a slow gusher, so there was time to pour before it overflowed. Even after pouring one-third of the bottle, you could see it still clearly going up the bottle! It was poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a hazy straw golden yellow colour with a two finger white head that dissipated slowly to a thinish foam cap and leaves nice streaky lacing.
Aroma: Nice tart, funky barnyard, hay, lemon and pear aromas.
Taste: Tart, sour, lemon, funk followed by some light peppery spice and light bitterness.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with a medium but prickly carbonation.
Overall: A nice sour, tart and funky beer.

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