Old Wounds
Wilderness Brewery (Wales) in Newtown, Powys, Wales 🏴
Barley Wine - Barley Regular|
Score
6.96
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Alengrin (11609) reviewed Old Wounds from Wilderness Brewery (Wales) 1 year ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 7.5 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 8
Strong wild ale – in fact dubbed ‘barleywine’ – from a Welsh craft brewery specialising in farmhouse style ales, whatever that means nowadays… Gusher, so be careful when opening the 37.5 cl bottle. Medium thick, off-white, regularly edged, dissipating head leaving a flat ‘island’ of foam in the middle; hazy peach blonde robe with ‘dirty’ beige hue and lots of even darker, brownish protein and dead yeast bits depositing at the bottom of the glass – in all, this beer does not start off well visually speaking… Aroma of strong Brettanomyces effects, funky and estery, with notes of pickled apricots and pickled lemons, stale orange juice, urine, orange wine, overripe yellow plum, damp hay, spoiled carrot soup, wet wood, a whiff of whisky for sure, oak-induced vanillin, wine must, wet gravel, petrichor but also band aid and other ‘clinical’ phenols, even a – luckily very faint and volatile – whiff of gasoline. ‘Wildly’ estery onset with impressions of overripe plum, cooked gooseberry, old storage apple and pickled apricot, sweet with a softly tart edge – yet no outspoken acidity; medium carb, a bit prickly, with smooth mouthfeel, feeling less vinous and ‘full’ than expected at this strength. Fluffy, cakey and very bready malts, the breadiness obviously reinforced by yeast, with this heavy load of fruity esters continuing unabated, including that tartly edged pickled apricot or plum effect; woody tannins grow slowly, with clear vanilla effect from the oak wood and with the whisky in its trail, adding a background glow of Speyside whisky, warming yet nowhere too wry or boozy. Retronasally, the clinic- and band aid-like phenols are still there, but far less intrusively so than I was fearing; leathery and funky Brett effects linger with drying effect. A complicated case of a strong wild ale – a beer of mixed fermentation at indeed barleywine-esque strength, or at least much stronger than is averagely the case in this kind of beers, though much of that alcohol comes from the whisky barreling. The gushing, overall ‘dirtiness’ and overly phenolic profile are signs of the Brett being not well under control and downgrade the experience, but there is the bright orange (even orange wine) side to keep things entertaining and the wood and whisky are elements well integrated without dominating too much, something I can always appreciate. Interesting but not nearly flawless – a ‘benefit of the doubt’ kind of case for me.
EvNa (6056) reviewed Old Wounds from Wilderness Brewery (Wales) 1 year ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Bottle. Color: Lightly hazy orangish golden, fast disappearing white head. Aroma: Leathery Brett funk, some Whisky, malty. Taste: Strong leathery Brett funk, malty, boozy Whisky and oak wood notes. Some dried stone fruit. Hints of tannins. Over moderate sweet, light sourness, moderate bitterness. Full body, low carbonation. Interesting. I wouldn't be surprised if it was a bit more balanced when younger, but as a Brett lover I'm glad I've had the chance to taste this one (last bottle at Stori) during our holiday in Wales this summer.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7.5
375 ml bottle from Stori, Bala. Pours light hazed orange gold with a dissipating white head. Fruity, bretty, dried fruits hints, light tangy. Medium sweet & light to medium bitter. Light to medium body with spritzy carbonation.