It’s nice to have generous friends.
I was recently invited to a beer sampling over at a homebrewing friend’s house with the general theme of sour and/or funky brews, meaning any beer that puckered your lips or smelled like the Miracle of Birth barn at the State Fair was invited to the table.
The list was impressive, including a number of beers I’d never tried before that aren’t readily available around these parts. Here’s what we sampled:
- The Bruery Saison Rue
- Jolly Pumpkin La Roja
- Jolly Pumpkin Oro de Calabaza
- Russian River Consecration Batch One
- Russian River Consecration Batch Two
- Russian River Supplication
- New Glarus Belgian Quadrupel
- Boulevard Saison-Brett
- Brouwerij Verhaeghe Vichtenaar
- New Belgium Lips of Faith Transatlantique Kriek
- New Belgium Lips of Faith La Folie
- Lost Abbey Cuvee de Tomme
- Allagash Confluence
- Ommegang Ommegeddon
- Goose Island Sofie
The wild ale thing is definitely on the rise in popularity, as evidenced by my time at GABF this year, with many brewers experimenting with wild yeast strains and bacteria to give their beers characteristics and outcomes that are very unique, adventurous, and often uncontrollable.
But there were a few misses for me, including Vichtenaar (far too young and sweet to include in this tasting), and Jolly Pumpkin’s La Roja (great fruit aroma, but didn’t get enough of the sour I was looking for).
However, the big winner of the night for me was Russian River’s Supplication, a superbly crafted wild ale that I had the fortune of first trying at Falling Rock in Denver. Somewhat reminiscent of a lambic in its intensely tart aroma and flavor (it gets ya here, and gets ya right here) with some cherry, vanilla, and vinous qualities. Really one of the masterpieces in the category.
October 18, 2009 at 6:59 pm
Impressive. Nice list there. Really want to try Supplication. Consecration was good. Wild Ales are huge like you said. I really wish a lot of these were easier to get.
October 19, 2009 at 8:01 am
Is that some DFH gin I spy too? How was that?
October 19, 2009 at 9:31 am
Yep, my buddy had a bottle of DFH gin and a bottle of their rum, which was excellent.
October 19, 2009 at 10:29 am
Dave – I’m sure you’d like Supplication, it’s a fantastic beer. It was also interesting to see how different the Consecration batches were. As a group we definitely preferred the second one, if I recall correctly.
October 19, 2009 at 1:37 pm
Allagash Confluence, not Interlude. The miss for me was Transatlantique Kriek. Not good. And I was so excited to try it when I received it. We didn’t end up getting to the Dissident or Grand Cru. But we did have Sofie, and more importantly- Simpler Times Pilsner…..
October 19, 2009 at 1:45 pm
Thanks Dan, that makes more sense, was going off the original list from Ryan as well as hazy mental notes on what exactly was there.
I was using Simpler Times as a palate cleanser.
October 19, 2009 at 2:10 pm
mmmmm simpler times………
October 19, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Can’t go wrong at $2.99 a six pack.
Can’t really go right, either.
October 19, 2009 at 3:25 pm
Honestly, Simpler Times is not bad for a canned lager that costs like $3 for a six-pack at Trader Joe’s.
October 19, 2009 at 4:01 pm
The “lager” is pretty doable. The “pilsner” is not so much.
October 19, 2009 at 4:21 pm
I kind of did the same thing a few weeks ago. Here is a list and pictures of our beers and cheeses.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nhudson/sets/72157622518394166/
I would say my favorite funky beer now is Lost Abbey Isabelle Proximus, though that was a one time beer, so its not like that can be found anywhere easy. After that Cable Car and the Cantillon Rose de Gambrinus were next in line for me. The Rose de Gambrinus was really really sour.
October 19, 2009 at 4:41 pm
Wow! Beautiful pictures, and hell of a line-up! Thanks for sharing Nick.
October 19, 2009 at 7:31 pm
I wish I could say I’d tried many of these, but sadly, no. However, Sophie is mighty tasty but I was underwhelmed with the Boulevard.
October 20, 2009 at 8:10 am
Wow nice pics. I wish I had people that I knew around me that would do something like this. But I drink alone a lot. No one around me likes this kind of beer! Well none of my friends anyway.
October 22, 2009 at 10:04 am
Arron, I can’t stop thinking about that RR Supplication ever since we first had it at Falling Rock in Denver, divine! How can I get my hands on some?! Or is there a place I can buy it online?
October 22, 2009 at 10:25 am
You’ll likely have to find someone willing to trade for it…or you could luck out finding some at a west coast liquor store that ships beer. My go-to in that situation is South Bay in San Diego, they’re listed in my “Beer Spots” page.