Approachably smooth golden-coppered 'mild sour ale' will please lighter thirsts looking to crossover. Musky horseblanketed barnyard leathering and brettanomyces funk from a wild yeast strain dig into floral-dried citric frontage. Loud champagne-like carbolic fizz enjoins lemon-juiced mango, pineapple and melon illusions as well as vinous green grape, tart Granny Smith apple and oaken cherry undertones. Pickled ginger souring and mustard dill saucing add depth. Honeyed herbal whim brings tertiary lemongrass, parsley, sage and honeysuckle notions to the rye malted backend. Like a zesty lemon spritz, only much busier and complex.
Tag Archives: sour ale
GOOSE ISLAND DOMINIQUE
Flagrantly sour American wild ale connects white-wined champagne dryness, tannic yellow grape esters, and oaken cherry tartness to bourbon vanilla assertion above funky brettanomyces-laced earthiness. Mouth-puckering cider pungency grazes tertiary white peach cranberry, fig, lime and kumquat illusions. Belgian gueuze-like profile enhanced further by piquant vinegar-soured raspberry vinaigrette acidity and pinot grigio parchedness.
ALLAGASH VRIENDEN
On tap at Barcade, amiable golden-hued wild ale stays less frenzied than brewers’ Thing 1 and Confluence. Leathery citric-embittered barnyard acridity (typical of champagne-dried Belgian gueuze styling) spreads mouth-puckering brettanomyces souring all over tart lemon-juiced oaken cherry parch, piquant Granny Smith apple scruff, murky white grape esters and advertised dandelion-elderberry snip. Acetous white-wined raspberry vinaigrette rasp increases vinous vinegar vigor.
ALLAGASH CONFLUENCE
On tap at Barcade, bustling amber-hazed wild ale retains mild honey-glazed crystal-malted creaming to contrast leathery brettanomyces yeast funk, dry barnyard earthiness and floral citrus tartness. Unexpectedly welcomed Band Aid-like beechwood smoking and salted peppercorn nuance coat lemony Granny Smith apple, pineapple, cherry, and grape souring. An engrossing ‘confluence’ of flavors that stay light on the tongue.
ALLAGASH GHOULSCHIP 2011
On tap at Barcade, ghoulish autumnal copper-hazed wild ale retains rustic brettanomyces souring from spontaneous yeast fermentation. Dry barnyard leathering backs initial apple-soured citric tartness. At midst, Halloween-bound pumpkin-seeded toasting pleats raw molasses bittering and lemony grains of paradise acidity, contrasting subsidiary honeyed malt sweetness.
ALLAGASH LITTLE BIG
On tap at Barcade, extremely dry sour ale brings leathery brettanomyces funk to tart citric-peeled white wining, arid oaken cherry acidity, and raw-honeyed vanilla extraction. Sharper hop bittering than brewers’ Vrienden may be drawback for anyone other than hardened hopheads.
SHMALTZ GEEKTOBERFEST ’11
Wonderfully expressive ‘Extreme Beer’ combining Shmaltz’s Jewbelation, Rejewvenation and Coney Island Human Blockhead Lager with a barrel-aged version of Ithaca Nut Brown and Captain Lawrence’s port-barreled Sour Brown Ale. On tap, busy brown-hazed sour ale merges vinous grape funk, tart cherry slunk and acidic brettanomyces gunk with oaken vanilla dryness, picking up high octane bourbon whir by dried fruited finish. Caramel, cocoa, and chocolate malting create gingerbread-marzipan sweetness to underscore ascending fig, prune, and date illusions. Wispy brandied burgundy wining adds subtle elegance. OMMEGANG APHRODITE
‘Ethereal’ dry-bodied fruit ale plies lactic brettanomyces yeast funk to tart white-peppered raspberry vinaigrette sourness, bubbly champagne-like fizz and brimstone limed salting for interestingly complex, burgundy-hued, pinkish-headed, pilsner-malted lightweight. Oaken cherry, green apple, green grape, grains of paradise and Japanese pear nuances given vinegary solvent-like pucker and woody barnyard parch to punctuate sour ale tendencies.
ALLAGASH INTERLUDE 2010
Complexities abound for 2010 version of French Merlot-aged sour ale (a.k.a. American wild ale) that effectively utilizes Belgian- originated lambic-styled spontaneous fermentation. Piquant farmhouse yeast brettanomyces affects oaken grape dryness, leathery wet-grassed bark-dried barnyard funk, and dry herbal innuendo. Tart raspberry souring and sharp cider astringency slip into champagne-flowed white-wined pucker. Ancillary Bosc pear, green apple, persimmons, pomegranate, plum, and fig illusions absorb oaken vanilla acridity to dark-spiced tea-like backdrop.
ITHACA BRUTE GOLDEN SOUR ALE
Fertile Belgian-styled sour ale makes positive use of acrid brettanomyces acidity and really takes off. Oaken cherry, tart peach, and vinous grape absorb dry cider-sharpened champagne yeast. Sharp Granny Smith apple pucker soars alongside lemon-candied swagger and grassy-hopped barnyard funk at busy midst. WEYERBACHER RISERVA ALE
Complex russet-clouded tan-headed oak-aged ‘wild ale’ saddles soured brettanomyces yeast clumps with endless wood-dried raspberry puree tartness. Sharp prickly hop bite reinforces lambic-like raspberry vinaigrette acidity, heightening vinous yellow grape-skin esters, vinegary cider sharpness, and fizzy sparkling champagne lilt. Sour-candied cherry pucker picks up tertiary rosé, burgundy, and bourbon illusions as well as eye-squinting lemon liming. Solvent vinegar-like astringency and mossy barnyard musk deepen funky sour ale disposition. (TIMMERMANS) BOURGOGNE DES FLANDRES
Significant 8.4-ounce Flanders-styled Flemish sour ale with sweet burgundy essence aided by dried raisin-prune sourness and oaken cherry-raspberry tartness. Lactic brown-sugared chocolate-vanilla midst leverages wood-singed earthen grains and plush floral potpourri. Not unlike finest port wines and perfect as after dinner treat, this slow sipper is highly recommended.