Motley Cru 2016
Bellwoods Brewery in Toronto, Ontario, Canada 🇨🇦
Sour / Wild Beer - Flavoured Regular Out of Production|
Score
7.53
|
|
Niagara Wild Ale Blend w/ Gewürztraminer
Each year we release a special beer in celebration of our anniversary, with the only requirement being that it must incorporate a blend of different barrel aged beers. The resulting beer fits no single style category, and often includes several strains of brett and/or lactic acid producing bacteria.
Our 2016 version is new territory for us, as we decided to forego commercial brewer's yeast, instead pitching Gewürztraminer grape must from Tawse into our wort as the only source of (wild) yeast and bacteria. Fortuitously, the fermentation was a success!
This Gewürz beer was blended with a sour ale (80/20 Gewürz/sour) and both were aged in French oak barrels (from Tawse as well) for 2 years. The beer that has emerged is an ode to our local microflora, made possible by some humble grapes. The aromatics are distinctly bright and vinous, characterized by floral notes of lilac alongside black pepper. The flavour has a nice acidity, and showcases complex layers of brett funk, citrus, white grape, apple, and lychee, within a dry, drinkable body. It's yum town.
Each year we release a special beer in celebration of our anniversary, with the only requirement being that it must incorporate a blend of different barrel aged beers. The resulting beer fits no single style category, and often includes several strains of brett and/or lactic acid producing bacteria.
Our 2016 version is new territory for us, as we decided to forego commercial brewer's yeast, instead pitching Gewürztraminer grape must from Tawse into our wort as the only source of (wild) yeast and bacteria. Fortuitously, the fermentation was a success!
This Gewürz beer was blended with a sour ale (80/20 Gewürz/sour) and both were aged in French oak barrels (from Tawse as well) for 2 years. The beer that has emerged is an ode to our local microflora, made possible by some humble grapes. The aromatics are distinctly bright and vinous, characterized by floral notes of lilac alongside black pepper. The flavour has a nice acidity, and showcases complex layers of brett funk, citrus, white grape, apple, and lychee, within a dry, drinkable body. It's yum town.
Sign up to add a tick or review
8.8/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 10
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
500ml bottle from the brewery. Hazy yellow pour, medium white head. Aroma is funky, tart with some great barnyard aromas. Lemon rind, and citrus oil, stale wheat, musty hay, bright apricot, and some solid vinous notes with the acidity of a pungent white wine with some earthy, woody barrel notes. Wow! Mouth feel is quite nice with a medium carb. The finish is very funky, with light bitterness and a high funky/tartness. Amazing that Canadian breweries are making gems like this. No need to go looking for super expensive Belgian lambics when we have access to stuff like this. Incredible!
Tried
from Bottle
on 28 Feb 2025
at 06:22
8.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bottle thanks to Dennis. Pours hazy bright orange with a small white head. Aromas of pear, citrus, lactose, floral, lemony, peppery, apples. Taste is oaky, sweet pear, citrus, lemon, apples, gooseberries, brett, lactic tart. Delicious!
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Nov 2019
at 16:54
8.2/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8
Bellwoods Motley Cru 2016 Niagara wild ale blend with gewürztraminer 8% I traded for this and am glad I did! I’ve no idea what gewürztraminer is but it makes a good beer. Rich orange honey gold with a flickering fast head of fizzy foam that left nothing behind. Fruity musty berry aroma that is very soft. Medium bodied and smooth with a rich flavor of berries and light spice. Fantastic. Ap 4 Ar 8 t 9 p 4 o 15-6
Tried
on 09 Jun 2019
at 18:33
7.4/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Brown bottle, 500 ml, trade with Peter Killam (thank you!), savoured on November 25 2017; eye: orangey, clear, no effervescence, minuscule ring of greyish head, no lacing; nose: acidity, fruity, white wine, fresh, horse; mouth: acidity, fruity, white wine, litchi, slight musk, light mineral, light citrus, slight salt, semi-dry finale in white wine with presence of acidity, medium body, rather carbonated, slick texture; overall: fine
FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune,500 ml, échange avec Peter Killam (thank you!), savourée le 25 novembre 2017; œil : orangée, limpide, pas d'effervescence, minuscule anneau de mousse grisâtre, pas de dentelle; nez : acidité, fruité, vin blanc, frais, cheval; bouche : acidité, fruité, vin blanc, litchi, très léger musc, léger minéral, léger citron, très léger sel, finale semi-sèche en vin blanc avec présence d'acidité, corps moyen, plutôt carbonatée, texture coulante; en résumé : bien
FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune,500 ml, échange avec Peter Killam (thank you!), savourée le 25 novembre 2017; œil : orangée, limpide, pas d'effervescence, minuscule anneau de mousse grisâtre, pas de dentelle; nez : acidité, fruité, vin blanc, frais, cheval; bouche : acidité, fruité, vin blanc, litchi, très léger musc, léger minéral, léger citron, très léger sel, finale semi-sèche en vin blanc avec présence d'acidité, corps moyen, plutôt carbonatée, texture coulante; en résumé : bien
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Nov 2017
at 12:16
7.6/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7.5
500mL bottle, sent from wilco (thanks a lot, Mike), pours a clear pale golden with a small white head. Aroma brings out lots of brett, light acidity, some stone fruits, and oak. Flavour is along the same lines, with oak, acidic stone fruits and brett. Nicely constructed with lots of depth.
Tried
from Bottle
on 21 Dec 2016
at 23:34
6.9/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7.5
Bottle - Grassy and flowery aromatics. Cloudy gold with a decent white head. Tart citrus and white grape. Grape must comes through.
Tried
from Bottle
on 23 Nov 2016
at 01:33
7.6/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Courtesy of Sergey
Cloudy blond color with orange hue. Vinous aroma, smooth mouthfeel, the flavor is very grapey, I’m thinking more of strawberries (Concorde/Fox grapes) rather than Gewurztraminer. Lemony acidity.
Excellent.
Cloudy blond color with orange hue. Vinous aroma, smooth mouthfeel, the flavor is very grapey, I’m thinking more of strawberries (Concorde/Fox grapes) rather than Gewurztraminer. Lemony acidity.
Excellent.
Tried
on 20 Oct 2016
at 18:36
7.5/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 8
Tasting at Alex’s. 500ml bottle from Toronto (thx, Peter!). Pours an opaque blonde with a very weak head. Aroma is funky, fermented fruits, grapes, grapefruit and some slight barrel notes. Taste is pretty the same. Pleasant.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Oct 2016
at 23:44
7/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle: Poured a light yellow color ale with a medium size bubbly head with limited retention. Aroma of tart notes with light funky ester and some vinous notes are also discernable. Taste is a mix of tart notes with some funky yeast notes with some vinous notes that are also discernable and are well balance against the Brett notes. Body is light with medium carbonation. I am usually a big fan of white wine barrel sour but I thought this one lacked some depth and probably my least favorite of the series.
Tried
from Bottle
on 26 Aug 2016
at 07:41
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
Bouteille 500ml, gracieuseté de msjpearson, Thanks Mike! Couleur dorée translucide, fine mousse blanche fugace. Arôme vineux, raisin vert, chêne, malt, Brett, un peu poivré, vin blanc. Goût vineux, boisé, acidité moyenne, légère amertume. Carbonatation moyenne-élevée, corps moyen.
Tried
on 18 Jun 2016
at 11:15