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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7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle - Lots of funk, pepper, and fresh herbal notes. Cloudy gold with a decent white head. Woody, herbal and complex. Great.
Tried
from Bottle
on 15 Jul 2018
at 05:36
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
750ml bottle pours a darker orange with some clumpy, white head. Woodsy nose, deodorant, soap. Flavor is very unique, wintergreen mint, spruce, woodsy, soap, orange now. Tart finish. Very interesting.
Tried
from Bottle
on 05 May 2018
at 18:56
8.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 10
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 9
Bottle at Arrogant Pub courtesy of Alle, grazie! Hazy bright golden amber color white head. Nice aroma of Christmas trees, mixed spice. Taste is sour spiced pine and spruce. Fantastic.
Tried
from Bottle
on 17 Mar 2018
at 13:07
7.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle thanks to Sir Todd. Thanks. Pours a cloudy orange gold color with a large white head. A big funky vinous nose. The pine fir flavor is huge, medicinal in a good way, funk, sour fruit. Very good. Lovely complex beer.
Tried
from Bottle
on 27 Jul 2016
at 02:01
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
750ml bottle pours out a hazy gold topped with a small head. nose is burning tires barrel vanilla spice. Taste is more of the barrel vanilla sweetness pine spruce tips and a funk.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Apr 2016
at 23:35
6.9/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
Bottle at Saraveza Farmhouse Festival, pours a vibrant golden with a small white head. Aroma brings out lots of toasted cereal, tart oaky notes and lots of fir. Flavour is dominated by the fir, with tons of pine needles and tart oaky notes. Complex and well-integrated, but not a huge fan of the fir. Good stuff.
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Mar 2016
at 02:15
7.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bottle. Pours a hazy orange with medium frothy white head that lasts. The aroma is strong funk, grape, oak. Medium mouth, apple, funk, brett, oak, light tartness, very good.
Tried
from Bottle
on 11 Feb 2016
at 22:00
9/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bottle poured to rake in #2000 rating. The year the world did not end! Celebrating with a fun, unique beer that happens to be my first experience with TAA. First off, I don’t think I have ever had a beer like this one in my life. Listed at 7.22%. Sour fruit aroma with citrus varieties, yeast, and a white wine flavor. Earthy element as well to both. A piney finish that lingers. It’s like a sour forest flavored beer, which is nothing less than incredible. Floral constant, white grape juice, soft herbal thoughout. Prime when it comes to uniqueness. No flattened parsley. Awesome.
Tried
from Bottle
on 31 Jan 2016
at 11:15
7.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8
Shared by Andrew, congrats on the 2000th rating. Thick, can’t see through it. Aroma is brett and sweet. So more room to develop. Flavor has a light effervescence cutting through the sweetness and a tart kick at the end. Still pretty bretty. After getting thru the sweetness and the brett I can smell a fir like aspect, it’s like old green tree, a little leathery. It’s got a lot going on, yet sweet and it could develop more with all the sweetness leftover. Thanks for sharing Andrew. Rerate- fresh palate. Aroma has brett L. Moderate burnt rubber. Some sweetness. Flavor has that light Lambic cork character, less brett, tart orange juice abd maybe fir. I still like it but tastes different tan the firstbtimem .
Tried
from Can
on 30 Jan 2016
at 22:47
8.3/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bottle. Thanks Bobby - Pours amber white head. Nose/taste of herbal sourness, oak, florals, sour tree bark and sour earthy lemon - medium body.
Tried
from Bottle
on 08 Jul 2015
at 00:05