Vague Recollection 2017: Syrah & Sangiovese
Jester King Brewery in Austin, Texas, United States 🇺🇸
Sour / Wild Beer - Flavoured Rotating Out of Production|
Score
7.28
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As our followers know well, we’re fans of taking the byproduct or “waste” from one beer and using it to make another. We do this with “spent” raspberries, cherries, blackberries, and blueberries, and in 2016 we started doing it with wine grape pomace. The pomace is what’s leftover after running wine grapes through a crusher/de-stemmer (skins, stems, and seeds).
One of the things we like about this technique is the subtlety of the resulting flavors and aromas. Whereas beers like Cerveza de Tempranillo and Bière de Blanc du Bois are more hybrids of beer making and wine making, Vague Recollection is firmly in the beer camp. Aging on the pomace creates a really nice texture and delicateness to a very well attenuated base beer.
2017 Vague Recollection was packaged on October 24th, 2017. It’s 6.0% alcohol by volume, 16 IBU, 3.5 pH, and 1.001 specific gravity (0.25 Plato). It will be released when our tasting room opens today, December 22nd and will be available by the glass and in bottles to go (750ml/$18). We have about 6,500 bottles, and there’s no bottle limit. Aside from special events, we do not anticipate that Vague Recollection will be available outside our tasting room.
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Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Sampled Christmas 2025! It's a fair question whether this thing can hold up for 8 years. Did it? Well, at first pass its fine, but is it at its best? Most likely not, and unfortunately I haven't had it before so I couldn't compare to any other experiences. Vinuous notes are pretty hard to come by here, instead it features a strong doughy funky and acetic character, somewhere in the gueuze realm but a bit sweeter. It's not especially subtle or complex, rather just a semi-sweet and strongly sour whack. Mild cloudy at first pour, to more murky once some sediment escapes into the final pour. Golden to orange-ish color, light carbonation, thin and quickly fading head. 750ml bottle from Shamrock Liquors near UCF, Orlando FL
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
On tap at the brewery. Pours a cloudy orange pink with medium off white head leaving spotty lacing. The aroma is floral, oak, grape skin, funk. Medium body, strong oak, funk, light tartness, vinous, dry finish, very good.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Described as Batch #4 A blend of 35% young Das Überkind and 65% foudre-aged Bière de Miel, aged on the grape pomace from Jester King Bière de Lenoir! - Hazy pink orange colour. Aroma is packed with fruity grapes and funky yeast. Flavour starrts out sweet from the honey also gets very tart and very fruity. Very good body too.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6.5
750 ml bottle. Pours a slightly hazy amber with little head. Aromas of barnyard (a lot), musty grapes, citrus, and wet malts. Flavors of limes, boxed white wine, fruity brett, light wood, and wheaty malts. Refreshing when cold but pricey for that... A slightly sour fruit beverage.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Draught @ MBCC'18 [ Yellow Session ]. - Mikkeller Beer Celebration Copenhagen 2018, Øksnehallen, Halmtorvet 11, 1700 København V, Danmark. [ As Jester King Vague Recollection ].Unclear - hazy medium orange yellow colour with a small to average, frothy, fair lacing, mostly diminishing, off-white head. Aroma is moderate malty, pale malt, floral, sweet malt, moderate yeasty, fruity yeast, citrus - grapes. Flavor is moderate to heavy sweet and light bitter with a long duration, floral, fruity hops, fruity yeast, baking yeast, lemon - citrus - grapes. Body is medium, texture is oily, carbonation is soft. [20180511] 7-3-7-3-15
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Tasting at Jamie's; batch 2
Cloudy blond colour. The aroma is also a bit funky, besides that it's a fairly simple Sour, sharp, a bit lemony and winey.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle split at L6, from a trade thanks to Daniel from Texass, 05/09/18. Hazed golden orange with a big old off white cap. Nose is grassy, orange peel, pale malts, tangy berry skins, stale bread. Taste comprises pissy citric strains, oak, damp hay, yeast strains, tarte berry notes, lemon rind, grape must. Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close. Decent.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle shared at a Columbus tasting 05/09/2018. Many thanks! A hazed orange gold coloured pour with a fine white head. Aroma is sour woody plum, gooseberry, peachlight zesty. Flavour is composed of semi sweet, sour lime, woody, kaffir. light soap. Palate is tart sour, woody lime, . Harsh bitter lime.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
5th September 2018
Level 6 bottleshare. Thanks to Cloin. Hazy gold beer, small pale cream colour head. Palate is light, fairly dry and has a reasonable fine crispness. Light tart fruits, tart apricot. Little savoury brett. Light tangy fruity finish. Not a bad flavour but thin and tangy.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle shared in London - cheers to Cloin. Pours unclear gold with a frothy, white head. Fairly expressive Belgian yeast character, lemon candies, low acidity, melon, peach, what bread. Light to medium bodied with fine carbonation. Tangy citric finish, more lemon candies. Not bad overall.