Tommie Sjef Wild Ales Bitter

Bitter

 

Tommie Sjef Wild Ales in Den Helder, Noord-Holland, Netherlands 🇳🇱

  Farmhouse - Sour Saison Regular
Score
7.70
ABV: 7.0% IBU: - Ticks: 37
Bitter is a blend of a saison and mature beer from older barrels. The saison is made with a good amount of hops. The resulting bitterness works well with the complexity of the older beer, that aged for 2,5 up to 4 years in oak barrels.
In the nose you will come across vanilla, dusty cellar and some funk, but also a floral quality — think of lavender and chamomile. The more yeasty character of the saison, with a hint of black pepper, complements the more mature and funky characteristics of the older part of the blend. Taste-wise, you’ll find lemon zest, wood, and interesting herbal notes like sage and terragon. The bright acidity of the wild ale and the firm bitterness of the saison make this a refreshing, yet complex beer. The after taste ends dry, with hints of aromatic apples, like a good calvados.
This beer is suitable for longer ageing. The bitterness and sourness of the beer are expected to merge. In addition, it’s always interesting — often fascinating and amazing — to see a beer develop over time in the bottle. When drinking fresh, we recommend to let the beer open up in the glass or decanter.
 

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8.1
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

I really loved this one.
Well blended. Not to sour and not to tart.
Balanced dryness and a fine carbonation level.
Easy to drink.
Fruity, citric, bread, oak and some spices
[Bottle share at Balthazar in Tromsø, Norway – shared with Rune]

Brewery #3075

Tried from Bottle at Balthazar on 14 Sep 2025 at 09:08


6.4
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 6.5

Bottleshare at Balthazar, many thanks to Cunningham. Spotty lacing on the glass from a film-type layer, misty orange coloured body. Farmyard on the nose with a scent of ripe lemon, promising. Blended taste of apricot, lemony hops, and farmyard, mid-tart. Drying close with moderate tartness. Long-lived. Pretty decent. (Tromsø, 04.09.2025).

Tried from Bottle at Balthazar on 04 Sep 2025 at 13:55


8.1
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7.5 | Flavor - 8.5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

17.03.2023: 0,75l bottle at home. Bottled 06.02.2022. amber cloudy color, small white head. smells funky, earthy, grassy, stone fruits, bit peppery, lactic, very nice smell. full body, soft carbonation. tastes stone fruits, grassy, earthy, peppery, herbal, some rosemary, horse radish, leathery. finishes dry and light to medium sour with notes of pepper, horse radish and grassy notes. good stuff, tastes a bit young, rather on the bitter side, non the less a pretty good one

8, 8, 7.5, 7, 7.5

Rerate 08.07.2025: 0,75l bottle at home. Bottled 06.02.2022. amber cloudy color, small white head. Smells wood, oak, light vanilla, funk, pepper, bit lactic, nice to very nice smell overall. full body, soft carbonation. Tastes funky, oak, hay, stone fruits, earthy, lightly lactic, peppery, some walnut. Finishes lightly dry and lightly sour with notes of oak, hay and walnut notes. very nice one, good complexity. Judging by the earlier rating this improved quite a bit!

8, 7.5, 8.5, 8, 8.5

Tried from Bottle on 08 Jul 2025 at 15:13


7.5
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Pale golden with a white head - Tart wood aroma - Malt body with a tart wood barrel flavour - The tart wood flavours goes into the finish - This was good

Tried on 05 Jan 2025 at 12:44


8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8

Poured from a bottle @ MBCC 2023 (finally adding my notes). Hazy gold with small white head. Very nice funk and oak notes.

Tried from Bottle on 09 Nov 2024 at 23:41


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle, 75cl with wine cork and crown cap. It pours a hazy orange-golden colored body and a small white head. The aroma has a bit more vinegar than I'd prefer, but there's also a really nice fruityness and funkyness. Barnyard, leather, oak, some piney hops and dried apricot. It's full-bodied and quite acidic, softly carbonated and with an unusual, not typical beery bitterness in the far back. Herbal, hoppy, lightly piney hops in the flavor, but it's mostly on the fruity, funky side. Leather, barnyard, lemon, horse blanket, some vinegar, a touch of malts and some dried apricot and green raisin. Lasting fruit-dominated finish with a good funkyness. A bit much vinegar going on here, but it's a really nice brew indeed. 241019

Tried from Bottle on 19 Oct 2024 at 20:06


8.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5

Bottle 750ml @ yngwie. Pours hazy deep golden with a small off-white head. Aroma is tart with notes of malt, oak, funk, vinegar and a faint hoppy citrus fruitiness. Taste is light sweet and light to medium sour with a slightly dry, funky, vinegar and fruity finish. Body is medium, texture is thin to oily, carbonation is soft to flat.

Tried from Bottle on 19 Oct 2024 at 20:00


7.4
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5

5-10-24 HC&B

Tried from Hop Cask & Barrel on 11 May 2024 at 01:28


7.2
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

Bottle @MBCC2023, Green Session. Cloudy golden, small white head. Funky berryand light solvent aroma. Sourish flavour, berry sweetness, light citric solvent.

Tried from Bottle on 25 Mar 2024 at 12:45


8.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle thanks to Hunter. Pours an orange gold with no head. The aroma is funk, wood, apple skin, leather. Slick body, funky, oak, earth, apple, enjoyed this.

Tried from Bottle on 29 Jan 2024 at 01:39