Ralph
The Ale Apothecary in Bend, Oregon, United States 🇺🇸
Sour / Wild Beer Regular|
Score
7.72
|
|
Named in honor of the man himself, the pharmacist-father of our founding brewer-artist, we wouldn't be here without you.
Mashed overnight in an oak vat, Ralph is made of Mecca Grade Vanora malt, Skagit Valley Caramel malt, aged Goschie Farms Cascade hops, water from our Skyline aquifer, and microbes & fir boughs from our surrounding forest.
Open fermentation occurs in wooden vats prior to aging in Oregon pinot noir barrels from Domaine Drouhin. Over a year later, Ralph is transferred to a large barrel with fresh fir boughs prior to bottle fermentation with Oregon honey.
Bottles are aged 6 months minimum in our cellar prior to release.
Mashed overnight in an oak vat, Ralph is made of Mecca Grade Vanora malt, Skagit Valley Caramel malt, aged Goschie Farms Cascade hops, water from our Skyline aquifer, and microbes & fir boughs from our surrounding forest.
Open fermentation occurs in wooden vats prior to aging in Oregon pinot noir barrels from Domaine Drouhin. Over a year later, Ralph is transferred to a large barrel with fresh fir boughs prior to bottle fermentation with Oregon honey.
Bottles are aged 6 months minimum in our cellar prior to release.
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8.2/10
LCI. Acetic, fir tea, funk
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Jan 2025
at 22:43
7.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
[notes] Poured from bottle @ FHF 2023 (Aug 12, 2023). Hazed brown with small beige head. Oak, tartness, okay.
Tried
from Bottle
on 16 Jan 2025
at 05:19
7.8/10
Massive pine needles on the nose, heavily acetic. Red berry.
Tried
from Bottle
on 04 Nov 2024
at 22:47
7.1/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 8.5
Pour at Dark Fields of Winter. Pours clear golden with foamy head. Aroma has a lot of honey. Flavour has a lot of honey with some sour lemon. Not getting a whole lot of pine. Nice balance of sour and honey sweetness
Tried
on 25 Feb 2024
at 08:06
7.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle shared by Jeremy at the August 2023 PS tasting, 8/19/23. New brewery! Brewery # 2214, USA # 1810, OR # 35 (that # will skyrocket in a couple weeks). Clear amber, large tan head, average retention. Aroma of spruce, soap, tart fruit. Taste is spruce, cherry, stone fruit, soap. Bright, strong tartness. Would be great but for the soapy notes I'm getting from the spruce.
Tried
from Bottle
on 29 Aug 2023
at 03:09
8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
750ml bottle. Intense pine needle notes, foresty spiciness, honey and funky sourness. Refreshing and complex.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Nov 2022
at 21:50
7.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 9
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 7
Bottle, taster. @Barcelona Beer Festival 2022, Barcelona (Spain). 14/10/2022 [#5.445 Global - #822 United States of America - #2 The Ale Apothecary] Pours orange with a lacing head. Some floaters. Aroma: spruce, pine needles and oak wood. Very nice aroma. Taste: wild yeast, pear, tart and pine. Tart mouthfeel. Long tart finish. Next one please!
Tried
from Bottle
on 20 Oct 2022
at 09:41
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 9
Texture 10
Overall 9
375 ml corked and caged. Aroma is Pine Sol, woody, funky, floral. Pours hazy burnt orange with a one finger beige head that falls pretty quickly into a ring. Taste is highly sour (9/10) with woodsy, funky flavors. Tastes better than the aroma let on. Nice creamy mouthfeel. Delicious beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Jun 2020
at 02:39
8.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 9
Flavor 10
Texture 8
Overall 9.5
Bottle. Pours orange brown. Funk, barnyard, pine, orange peel, slight petrol aroma, red wine, red wine vinegar, cereal, red grape, cherry, tangerine, blackberry. Medium body. Phenomenal.
Tried
from Bottle
on 02 May 2020
at 23:45
6.2/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 6
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6
Keg
Amber colour, with a red accent, cloudy, medium head size. Multiple elements in the aroma, from red fruit to seaweed, but ultimately focusing on herbal aromas. The mouthfeel is dry, the acidity is sharp, a bit lemony, just a touch or red currant, but mostly some rosemary and thyme.
Not particularly well conceived. Chaotic.
Amber colour, with a red accent, cloudy, medium head size. Multiple elements in the aroma, from red fruit to seaweed, but ultimately focusing on herbal aromas. The mouthfeel is dry, the acidity is sharp, a bit lemony, just a touch or red currant, but mostly some rosemary and thyme.
Not particularly well conceived. Chaotic.
Tried
on 18 Apr 2020
at 09:21