Sourdough Wild Ale
Almanac Beer Company in Alameda, California, United States 🇺🇸
Sour / Wild Beer Regular|
Score
7.12
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Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8.5
375mL capped bottle. Well decorated bottle, appeals to my "its fancy but too over the top" sense of style. I was looking at this and the blackberry but was very interested in the sourdough and the lemon aspect. I know of no other beer that uses full lemons for brewing. Furthermore, I have had one beer that used only sourdough yeast and that was a bit too much but always thought it might be a better secondary addition. So here we are. Pour looks good, pale gold color with medium head. At first sniff, LEMON, full on lemon. At first I think of it as lemon sorbet but as I drink it reminds me of lemon frozen yogurt without the cold. Its also a bit like a lemon drop. You got the lemon, some tart (basically from lemon) and even a bit of sweet. Its effervescent and bright, nit heavy and overbearing. Flavor is a little less sharp on the lemon, it kicks in at the end of the flavor. A bit of a light yogurt soda due to the slightly fuzzy carbonation. Not sour. A bit of a tart dryness fight with a lightly sweet white bread in the end as well. I really like novel flavors and lemons so this is the beer for me. I don’t think the sourdough has done much here. The Mosiac hop might be helping out with the lemon characteristic but its hard to differentiate. I will also add that it is a bit husky or milley but I am overlooking that. The flavor could be crisper and the mouthfeel is very average. Not as refreshing as I want it to be. I would love to see this brewery do another batch and see it with some tweaks. Particularly, no oats or spelt but I doubt that will happen.
popery (1999) reviewed Sourdough Wild Ale from Almanac Beer Company 11 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Pours golden amber and quite cloudy. The head is thick and frothy. It’s a mass of white bubbles that bears a striking resemblance to the bubbles produced by bread yeast. The aroma has a good amount of tropical fruit and peach hoppiness. There’s also some white wine and oak character imparted by the barrel. Lemon is present but pretty subdued. Taste is primarily sweet, fruity and oaky. There’s an undercurrent of sourness but it’s mild. It’s an interesting mix of flavors. Ultimately, it’s really not all that sweet and finishes pretty dry. Lots of fruit from the Mosaic hops. A bit more lemon. Fairly light with some body to it. Interesting beer. I enjoyed it more than I thought that I would. The sourness is quite light and the funk is also pretty subdued, but there’s a very nice balance between fruit flavors and barrel.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8
Bottle courtesy of rlgk. Pours hazy brownish golden with a frothy white head that slowly dissipates while leaving some thick trace on the glass. Smell is slightly sour, tiny malty, tiny fruity and slightly phenolic with sourdough crackers, minerals, lychee, overripe lemons, grape skins, plums, lemon zest and moist hay. Taste is tiny sour, slightly bitter, slightly malty and tiny phenolic with sourdough, orange zest, lemon zest, white grapes, moist hay, dry soil, sour milk, dandelions, watermelon rinds, barnyard and minerals. Mouthfeel is dry, slightly tart, astringent and light to medium bodied, finish is tiny sour, bitter and tiny malty with sourdough crackers, lemon zest, orange zest, grape skins, dandelions, dry soil, lemon juice, grape skins, watermelon rinds, barnyard, leather and pepper corns. Strangely refreshing.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
On tap at Harry’s Hofbrau. Pours orange with a white head. Slightly cloudy. Aroma of the and slight Brett. Taste is the with some floral hop highlights.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 6
Bottle @ Armin’s apartment, thanks to arminjewell for sharing. Pours a milky yellow orange appearance with an off white head. Aroma is actually pretty yeasty / bready with lemon, leather, and some stone fruits. Medium bodied. Flavor has a little more candy and brett-driven tropical fruit. Sort of Smarties flavor. Light to moderately tart. Pineapple, mango, tropical fruit. Kind of interesting but not my favorite sour from these folks.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Draft pour. On the lighter side with a fruity aroma. Doesnt taste as sour as I expected, but has a really good, belgian-like flavor to it. Good beer overall.
bhensonb (22726) reviewed Sourdough Wild Ale from Almanac Beer Company 12 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle. Pours gold with a white head. Light tropical fruit aroma. Med body. Flavor is nice tropical fruit with some slight brett flavor. Very tasty. Finishes just a bit tart/sour/earthy. Nice.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Poured from a 375mL bottle. Aroma is fairly fruity with a lot of tropical fruit character. Medium light lemon citrus notes. Light pale malt notes. Light Brett character and a hint of acidity. Pours a fairly cloudy golden orange with a fairly large, thick white head. Average retention and moderate lacing with medium sized legs. Flavor has a faint acidity with a light pale malt character. Light lemon notes and moderate tropical fruit character from the hops. Medium bitterness and a hint of alcohol spice. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and slightly creamy with moderate carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth. Overall an alright beer, but it does have a bit of an identity crisis. Is it an funky IPA or a hoppy farmhouse beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle. Pours with a hazed yellow hue with a foamy white head. Aromas show vanillin, peppery, lemon, sour dough, fruity, floral, delicate esters, melon, lemon balm, dill. Flavors are bitter-tannic, floral, medium tart. Bitter lemon pith. Bitterness detracts. Dry. Floral, sweet perceived esters. Lively carbonation. Medium low bodied. Green tasting. Mild fruity hop and resin.
djd07 (28882) reviewed Sourdough Wild Ale from Almanac Beer Company 12 years ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle thanks to Rainer. Pours a cloudy yellow with small frothy white head that lasts. The aroma is passionfruit, oak, and brett. Medium mouthfeel with light dry fruit and strong brett. Easy to drink, very good.