Lambic and Wild Ale

Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale is  triple fermented wild ale using saccharomyces and brettanomyces yeast strains. This beer was brewed by De Proef Brouwerij, an experimental brewery from the village of Lochristi in Belgium (near Gent). De Proef Brouwerij is known for its innovative products and collaborations, including collaborations with Allagash and Tom Arthur. Reinaert Flemish Wild Ale was the April 2003 selection for Michael Jackson’s Rare Beer Club.

Tasting notes were made on March 31, 2010.

Appearance: Pours a  fizzy clear pale golden yellow with good head retention.

Aroma: horsey, brett, belgian yeast, caramel; smells like a wild version of a Belgian Strong Pale Ale.

Taste: Initial sweet note, mint, bitter caramel;  alcohol; dry, lingering, bitter finish.

Mouthfeel: Medium. Significant carbonation. Smooth.

Drinkability: Quite drinkable, especially for such a high alcohol percentage. More pleasant and complex upon warming.

This beer does not hold back on the alcohol at 9%.  So far I have had mixed feelings about high alcohol Flanders reds and wild ales. This beer is doing a lot better on that front because it is going for a different experience – more reminiscent of a Belgian Triple or Strong Pale Ale. The brettanomyces add a nice touch to this style.

We found this beer in 11.2 oz. bottles at a reasonable price. If wild ales come to age we should expect more affordable year-round releases. This would be a particularly welcome development in the United States where, unlike in Belgium, the market for such beers is dominated by expensive seasonal releases.

This review of Supplication marks the fourth Russian River entry on this blog. Our positive experiences with Consecration, Beatification and Temptation created high expectations for this barrel aged Russian River beer as well.

This review is for Supplication 350 ml bottle (Batch 4×2).

Sour cherries were added to this “brown ale” during barrel aging and I expected a bright red color reminiscent of the Kriek lambics of Cantillon and Hanssens. The beer poured a clear amber and left a small creamy, but persistent, head. The smell was equally surprising and not as sharp (acetic acid) as I expected. This batch smelled rather musty with a dominant oaky brettanomyces aroma. Mild notes of banana, cherry and tropical fruit were detected as well. Upon tasting the sourness of this beer was rather moderate. The funk clearly dominated the fruit. Medium bodied with medium carbonation. Slight astringency. The most remarkable aspect of this beer is that the agreeable initial taste gave away to a rather yeasty bitter finish. This rather unpleasant aftertaste substantially decreased my appreciation for this beer.

I am not sure whether Supplication is “supposed” to be this way or that this batch is different from the previous batches. We opened two 350 ml bottles to compare but the experience was the same for both bottles. Since the  yeast sediment was left at the bottom of the bottle I am inclined to rule out that the yeast sediment was poured with the beer (an unfortunate event that can ruin a great lambic). I did not get much of the dry and lingering tartness that many other reviewers have tasted.

This was a rather disappointing beer from Russian River. The “nice cherry flavor and sourness” that the label offers was hardly found in these bottles. I am open to the suggestion that this batch was not representative. To be revisited in the future!

Reviews of the other three Russian River wild ales:

Russian River Temptation

Russian River Beatification

Russian River Consecration

It is hard to overlook the distinctive black bottles of Radikon on the shelves. But for someone used to craft beer prices, spending more than $30 for a 500 ml(!) bottle of wine is not routine. When walking around with the bottle in the store one of the employees observed me and initiated a conservation about the unique style of Radikon — how his whites are more like reds and if I would let her know what I thought about the wine next time I visit the store.

Stanko Radikon is one of the maverick naturalist wine makers from the Friuli region in Italy, close to neighboring Slovenia. His organic “Slovenian” wines are naturally fermented in large old barrels without temperature control. The grapes are harvested by hand, undergo long skin maceration and no artificial added yeasts or enzymes are used. Sulfites have been completely eliminated since 2002. The wines are not filtered.

The 2002 Oslavje is made from 40% Chardonnay, 30% Pinot Grigio and 30% Sauvignon Blanc. Although the wine is classified as a “white,” the color in the glass is an opaque dark golden yellow. In the neck of the bottle we observed an uncommon residue (yeast?).

One of the most remarkable experiences of drinking this wine is the sheer difficulty of describing it. No matter how long we swirled, smelled and tasted the wine, it refused to be domesticated. This is not necessarily a fault and we attributed it to our limited experience in describing wines of this nature. But later we discovered that even experienced wine writers like New York Times’ Eric Asimov had exactly the same experience!

This should not be interpreted as Radikon making indistinct wines. To the contrary; the wines are mysterious and very enjoyable.  Some notes were made to serve as a reminder and an attempt at characterization. It indeed smelled more like a red than a white —  horsey, peaches, and Margarita (!). The taste was “crazy,” “indescribable,” but I also noted lemon and grapefruit with mild tannins and a nutty finish.  The wine was medium bodied and a medium to long finish.

Having little experience with natural wine makers I do not know whether my experience is representative for the style or reflects the magic of Radikon. But it was one of the most unique and exceptional wines I have tasted to date. To be continued when our budget allows.

There is no shortage of American microbreweries releasing experimental beers that are fermented with Brettanomyces yeast.  One interpretation that has become quite popular is to brew brettanomyces beers with a strong hop profile (a style I have referred to as Wild IPA or Barnyard IPA).  Midnight Sun from Anchorage, Alaska, and Colby Chandler from San Diego have collaborated on a Belgian-style India Pale Ale aged in French Oak Cabernet Sauvignon barrels.  I might have missed this beer in my local Whole Foods were it not for its striking label.

Tasting notes from March 05, 2010.

Beer was poured in a Cantillon Gueuze glass.

Appearance: Pours a thick, foamy, lasting head. Hazy golden color.

Aroma: Brett and banana. Spice. Oak. Slight sweet note upon warming.

Taste: Spicy. Hops. Mint. Citrus. Looooooooooooong dry finish of  spice and herbal hops.

Mouthfeel: Medium bodied. Medium carbonation.  Silky smooth but barrel-induced astringency is present.

Drinkability: Great, but higher alcohol does not make this a session beer.

The emphasis of this beer is clearly on the hops instead of the “funk” but this is so well executed. Perhaps my perception was influenced by the location of Midnight Sun (Alaska) and its futurist blue-grey label but there is a something like a “cold” mint note that accompanies the strong and pleasant bitter finish allowing this beer to be enjoyed both while drinking and between sips! Strangely enough, the experience also reminded me of some of the better dry stouts.  I did detect a little sourness in the beer but the mouthfeel indicated substantial barrel-induced astringency. There is something contemplative about this beer but, unlike the “warm” feeling of the Port Brewing Company and De Proefbrouwerij collaboration, this beer is more reminiscent of some of the more chilly entries in the Comme des Garçons Incense perfumes and would make a good partner to Thomas Köner’s glacial ambient music.

It will be quite a while before the United States can compete with the best spontaneously fermentated beers of Belgium but American microbreweries are pioneers in brewing these kind of wild West-Coast style ales.