Almanac Farmer's Reserve Citrus

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 7.0%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.09/5
- RateBeer: 3.76/5

"Citrus and beer have made a great pair ever since the first lemon wedge was added to a frosty wheat beer. Here we expand on that tradition, melding a sour blond ale with the intensely aromatic zest of Buddha’s Hand citrons and the bracing tartness of Yuzu and Blood Oranges from Hamada Farms. Pair harmoniously with sushi or flakey white fish or contrast with earthy roasted root vegetables."

The appearance is a slightly hazy, light orange body with plenty of carbonation and half a finger of white head that disappeared immediately.

I get a lot of the base blonde ale on the aroma with doughy/bready malts and then some white grape, bacteria, yeast, and a touch of lime zest. Vanilla from the barrel comes out as it warms.

Oh baby! This has some eye-popping tartness right out of the gate. Fresh lemon acidity and that Buddha's hand make for a near eye-watering, mouth-puckering experience at every turn. The bacteria strain is sour as all hell, but so damn good at the same time. The beer then tosses in some sweeter notes of sugar-sprinkled grapefruit and even the barrel has an influence itself with a tiny bit of oak and dry, vinous notes. I picked up some vanilla on the nose, but it's not here on the taste, but the barrel has given me so many other flavors that this minor infraction is forgivable. The finish is big orange citrus and then is washed away immediately by more tart sourness. It's pretty damn sexy.

Mouthfeel is nice and light despite the 7% abv. It truly drinks smaller than the alcohol content would lead you to believe. While it is dry, it's also refreshing and easy to drink despite the sour factor.

Farmer's Reserve Citrus has delivered big time with a citrus-infused sour ale with high drinkability. I think the acidic fruits used complimented the bacteria perfectly and some tartness from the wine barrel added even more complexity. Those starting out on the style may be a bit reluctant, but veterans should fall in love easily with this one.

Rating
8.8/10

Mayflower Uncharted

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: ???
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.99/5
- RateBeer: N/A

I believe this marks the first "Brewery Only" release from Mayflower Brewing out of Plymouth, MA. They are well-known in Massachusetts and I've been satisfied with most of their offerings and can't really name a bad one. Mayflower has brewed a wide range of styles, but this Wild Ale sounds special. The base beer is a Saison which is then put in red wine barrels with bacteria strains Brettanomyces and Lactobacillus and aged for 15 months. This was a very limited release and I think only two barrels were filled which allowed just a two bottle limit at the brewery.

Pours a mostly transparent, but slightly hazy dark orange. Tons of carbonation coming off the bottom of the glass and it had about three fingers of pure white, fizzy head that disappeared immediately.

Aroma has a lot of tart funk, some grape juice, sawdust and oak with green apple.

Lots of breadiness and tartness on the taste. Some underlying red grape and vinous notes bring a fruity component to a sour ale. There's a sweet flavor I can't quite put my finger on, but the closest thing I can compare it too is caramel or toffee. It's not odd in any way, but I didn't see it coming from a brew like this. If the base saison contributes anything it is some barnyard funk and sawdust, but they are obscured by the bacteria and red wine characters.

The abv of this beer is unavailable, but the feel is fuller than a lot of other wild ales or saison's I've had. It's not syrupy and unpleasant, but it's definitely not light by any means. Whatever the alcohol content is, you can't taste it at all. The tartness is actually nice and refreshing without being too mouth-puckering.

Uncharted took time and care to make and the efforts have produced a good wild ale with plenty of tart qualities, red wine influence, and unexpected sweetness. Throw in some subtle fruits and funk and this has plenty of complexity to satisfy sour lovers.

Rating
8.1/10

Avery Fortuna

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 8.10%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.08/5
- RateBeer: 3.66/5

The Avery Barrel program is notorious for producing high abv, but flavorful beers of every style. I've previously reviewed some of Avery's barrel-aged beers and have found them to be delicious with strong barrel presence. Oddly enough, those were both pumpkin beers, but today we move to a completely different style with a sour. Fortuna is a sour ale that was aged in Suerte tequila barrels with salt and lime zest. Sounds intimidating to me.

Pours a hazy dark orange with a small amount of carbonation and less than a finger of white head.

It smells like top shelf tequila with a ton of lime and salt. It's full of brine-like pickle juice, but I am digging it. I'm also getting some spices which are similar to nutmeg and maybe even cinnamon. What?

In my experience with tequila aged beers, I have found almost 100% of them tend to be too hot with a significant amount of alcohol taste. Fortuna appears to be the first one I've had that got it done right.

To describe the taste would be to imagine licking salt, taking a tequila shot, and biting into a lime, but now it is soured with great bacteria strains. The oak and tequila are first and foremost, but that salt just dominates immediately after. It's like the salt flavor of a world-class Gose, but amped up and somehow doesn't make your eyes water. In the numerous IPA's I've reviewed, I find a lot of this lemon zest quality to them, but here, it is a juicy lime zest that adds intensity to the tequila and salt. Standing firmly next to the juices and salt is the sourness of those bacteria strains which when combined with the salt make for a truly mouth-puckering experience.

When you hear salt plus bacteria, your mouth dries up just thinking about how tart this could turn out. If I had to deduct points for anything it is that while this has managed to pull off insane drinkability, it is noticeably dry. Just have some water handy as you sip on this one. Avery barrel-aged beers usually come with huge abv's, but at "only" 8.10%, this is tame by Avery standards, but it still makes full use of it's weight. As I said before, no alcohol taste with the high quality spirit they used, it is smooth as all hell.

This is probably the best sour beer I've had, and easily at the top of "American Wild Ale" category for me. It's flavorful, tart, complex, and drinkable. Those who don't wish for such a tangy sour will stray away, but those who love the style are in for quite the experience.

Rating
9.5/10

Allagash Farm to Face

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 5.70%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.43/5
- RateBeer: 3.9/5

It's getting warmer out, so let's have something tart and refreshing. Allagash Farm to Face was originally a pale ale, but was fermented in stainless steel with house yeast, bacteria, and three pounds of peaches per gallon. After that, it was aged for 10 months to give us what we have today. I have previously reviewed Allagash Nancy which was similar, but made with cherries.

Pours a mostly clear, slightly hazy pale orange/dark yellow with a good amount of carbonation. It produced less than a finger of a fizzy, white head.

The first thing that hits is the bacteria strain and pleasant tartness followed by sweet peach and even some green apple.

The peach is not as overpowering as I thought it would be, but it's definitely here and is pretty sweet once you get past the tartness. That sour green apple is back and those bacteria strains are making this one go down like a lemon Warhead candy, but not as extreme. There's even some white grape and flower in there, but peach is subdued throughout.

If you want a sour ale, then you certainly get that here. I think mouth-puckering would be a great word to sum this one up. It's not so intense that you need a sip of water between swigs, but it's still strong enough to widen your eyes. The sourness stays all through the experience and the finish is noticeably dry. Lots of carbonation move this one along which prevents the tartness from overstaying its welcome.

In the end, Farm to Face is pleasantly tart sour ale good for a warm day, but I wish the peach was more prominent so that the fruit could help even out the sour qualities.

Rating
8.4/10

Hill Farmstead Elaborative #1

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 6.50%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.34/5
- RateBeer: 3.82/5

I think it was June 2013 when I made a trip up to Vermont for a Beercation. I had been to Hill Farmstead before, but that day was my first bottle release. On that day, they released Madness & Civilization 1 & 2 as well as Civil Disobedience #6. That baby pictured above was also on sale at the retail shop. It's a brown ale brewed with Ohio walnuts and aged for 18 months in multiple oak barrels, each with a different yeast and bacteria strain. Then they are all blended together to produce the final product.

Appearance looks black in the picture, but is actually dark burgundy/dark brown similar to a Rodenbach Vintage. It produced two fingers of an off-white head which stuck around for the duration of drinking.

Initially the sourness of the ale hits me first on the nose, but when you take in another sniff, some big sweetness from the base brown ale comes through with nuttiness and charred oak.

Those sour qualities are here on the taste, but not as intense. They're not lacking in any way, but it's good that this isn't a mouth-puckering brew with nothing more to offer. I definitely think those walnuts have helped counteract the tartness and it works beautifully here. The sweeter flavors I pick up are some brown sugar and the barrel has lent some hints of vanilla here too with even a tinge of maple or sap. Sourness picks up again on the finish, but it's pleasant and not a turnoff.

A lot of sour ales are big sippers, but this one went down almost too easily. It has high drinkablity, but be warned as there is a fair share of carbonation from start to finish. It's medium-bodied and finishes clean.

As a sour ale, Elaborative One is one the better examples I've ever had. As a Brown Ale, it is unfair to compare it to any Brown Ale that came before it. Those walnuts not only added the nutty flavor to the mix, but they helped even out this beer and prevented the sour component from taking over. It's tart, sweet, and balanced beautifully.

Rating
9.2/10

Night Shift/NoDa Stop, Collaborate, & Glisten

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 8.90%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.19/5
- RateBeer: 3.77/5 (Mean Avg)

Fermented in wine barrels with Sauvignon Blanc grape must, this collaboration between Night Shift and NoDa Brewing is a big 8.90% Wild Ale. NoDa gained notoriety last year at the 2014 World Beer Cup when it unexpectedly took the gold medal in the American IPA category. Night Shift wisely hooked up with the hot name in the beer world at the time and brewed a beer that was in Night Shift's wheelhouse.

Pours a murky, glowing orange with decent carbonation and it gave off two fingers of fizzy white head that disappeared quickly.

The aroma is fresh, tart white grapes, white wine, and some sweetness.

Wow, is that tart. Tart from both the white wine as well as the bacteria and yeast strains used. There's very subtle oak, but the sweetness from the aroma is back on the taste. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it has almost a cream soda quality and that kind of flavor helps offset the tartness. In addition there's a slight fresh-squeezed orange juice taste on the back with some pineapple too.

When held in the mouth, this has tons of carbonation much like soda and the tartness is mouth-puckering. However, given it's assorted palette of flavors, the combination of sour and sweet makes this highly drinkable and quite refreshing. It has a medium body and I would have never guessed this was almost 9.00%.

This collaboration brew between Night Shift and NoDa has a well-constructed equilibrium of sour and sweet. This was originally released in the summer of 2014 and it I can see how it would be ideal for a hot Summer's day with it's sourness, light-to-miedium body and refreshing finish. If there's a better beer named in honor of a Vanilla Ice song, then I have yet to find it.

Rating
8.5/10

New Holland Blue Sunday Sour

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 6.60%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.86/5
- RateBeer: N/A

According to the label, Blue Sunday is a blend of other New Holland sour beers. The website description isn't any more helpful as it just says "blend of several beers" for most of the ingredients. Frankly, there isn't a whole lot of info on it, which is good in terms of I don't know of any hype, but at least tell me what's in the god damn beer before I drink it! After further digging, it turns out that the beer is named for the repeal of "Blue Laws" which banned alcohol sales on Sundays.

Pours a transparent, clean, dark red/burgundy. It produced two fingers of a frothy, off-white, eggshell head.

The aroma reminds me of a lot of Flanders Red ales with its huge balsamic vinegar and flowers. Some cinnamon and oak finish things off.

There's a small amount of cherry, blueberry, and blackberry, but they aren't the dominant flavors. A lot of this beer contains sweet caramel and flowers. Maybe some raisins or plums, but it also has the acidity reminiscent of biting into a lemon rather than pleasant tartness from the bacteria strain Overall, it's a little disjointed.

The body is light, but thin with plenty of carbonation. You'd expect an aged and blended sour to be tart, but balanced with an abundance of flavor, but this comes off as tart as a result of bad bacteria rather than careful oak aging.

Blue Sunday delivers on being sour, but it's not really as balanced as it should be. There are some dark fruits to pick out if your senses are attentive enough, but the end result of this beer is a pretty bland sour ale that doesn't know if it is a fruit lambic, a flanders red, or a wild ale. Some (barely) decent tartness prevents this from being totally blacklisted, but there are plenty of other options widely available that will outshine this offering.

Rating
6.7/10

Night Shift Sour Tea

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 7.50%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 3.59/5
- RateBeer: 3.48/5

As the label says, Sour Tea is a variation on Night Shift's Bee Tea which is a Belgian Wheat Ale brewed with orange peel and honey and then aged on green tea leaves. I'm not sure what wild yeast it was introduced to in order to make the sour version, but hopefully it is tangy and strong.

Pours a transparent dark orange with a finger of off-white head.

The first aroma I pick up is the honey followed by green tea and somewhat of a sawdust smell with blood orange. Definitely some funk from the souring, but it is subdued.

Those green tea leaves hit me first on the taste. I know this isn't made with apples, but it has a cider-esque quality. Not just cider, but even an iced tea taste too. Almost as if you took an American Barleywine and eliminated all of the hop character. How is the souring? Well, unfortunately it isn't hitting me with satisfying tartness, but rather a bad sour candy taste. It does have somewhat of a sweet flavor thanks to the honey, but it's so faded that it does little to help balance out the wild bacteria.

The mouthfeel is rather thin and the unpleasant sour character combined with the aforementioned sawdust lingers after each sip. Carbonation, while not too noticeable, is producing bubbles on my tongue and some belching on my part.

I was hoping for a tart, green tea wild ale, but instead Sour Tea is sour for all the wrong reasons. Granted, there is some enjoyable green tea, honey, and zesty orange to be had, but they don't outweigh the negative souring process that has taken place. Not repulsive, but I wouldn't go for it again.

Rating
6.4/10

Allagash Nancy

The Stats
Style: American Wild Ale
ABV: 6.30%
Current Ratings...
- Beer Advocate: 4.28/5
- RateBeer: 3.77/5

Fermented with Maine cherries and Brettanomyces, Nancy was aged for almost one whole year in stainless steel.

Pours golden orange/light copper. Got tons of carbonation coming off the bottom of the glass. There was over a finger of white, fizzy head, but it disappeared almost immediately like highly-carbonated soda.

A nice bouquet of sweet, tart cherries, saison-like funk, breadiness, Belgian yeast, and even a hint of vanilla.

One sip in and you are in for a mouth-puckering ride of delicious sourness. The cherries are pretty much perfect as they don't take over or make the beer taste like cough syrup. It's just the right amount of tartness. It's funky like a saison and even has some black pepper notes. It's also quite citrusy as I get grapefruit juice and mango too.

Again, this is a sipper due to it's potent sour taste. There's lots of carbonation bubbles dancing on my tongue and it has a solid body for a lighter style. The tartness lingers nicely and the cherry isn't sticking to my tongue.

With big, genuine cherry flavor and spot-on tartness, this could be classified as a Flanders Red and compete with the best in that style. Nancy has a splendid balance of fruity flavors, funk, bread, and yeast. This would have been ideal for the warmer weather a few months ago, but I'm not complaining about having this bottle to myself on a cold night like this.

Rating
9.2/10