Tag Archives: Wild Ale

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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Mikkeller MAD4 Refshaleøen Sour

Brewery: Mikkeller ApS
Country: Denmark
ABV: 6.2%
Style: Euro Sour Ale
Other Notes: Brewed and bottled by Mikkeller at De Proef Brouwerij

Brewer Description: (from website) Beer brewed with blackthorn berries.

My rating: 1
My beeradvocate.com rating: 2.62
My ratebeer.com rating: 2.3

Intro: A 330ml bottle with a best before date of 7th February 2016, poured into a Duvel tulip glass.
Appearance: It poured a rather unappealing murky light mud brown colour. Looks like a cloudy thick apple juice. There was a one finger frothy and thick off white head that settles down to a thin but puffy layer with some thick sticky lacing.
Aroma: Somewhat sour funkiness with a fruity element leaning towards apple juice and cider. There is also an acidic vinegary touch.
Taste: Tart and sour at the beginning but there is no distinct lasting flavour but some bitterness. Its like as soon you get the sourness, something just cancels out all taste and its weird. Hint of vinegar, blueberry and apple, but at the same time, not really.
Mouthfeel: Medium bodied with mid to high carbonation.
Overall: Sour beers are good, but this was just a mess. The aromas were fine, but its taste and especially its appearance left something to be desired. I believe this was brewed once only, and that’s probably a good thing. Definitely not going for this again.

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