Speciation Artisan Ales
Microbrewery
in
Grand Rapids,
Michigan,
United States 🇺🇸
Associated with 2 Venues
Established in 2016
Contact
928 Wealthy St SE, Grand Rapids, MI, 49506, United States
Description
Speciation Artisan Ales takes an evolutionary approach to brewing wild beer, wine, hard seltzer, and cider. We make use of oak aging, innovative ingredients, and a coolship.
8.4/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 10/2019. Pours very hazy deep reddish/orange/pink, light purple color with a 1-2 finger fairly foamy and fluffy light pink head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. No glass lacing, and a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy blackberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, white bread, lighter peppercorn/musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of blackberries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of huge sour/tart/tangy blackberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, white bread, lighter peppercorn/musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy blackberries, fruit skin/seeds, lemon, lime, orange, peach, plum, pear, apricot, melon, green apple, red grape/wine, hay, straw, grass, wheat, white bread, lighter peppercorn/musty/lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of blackberries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with a great malt/tart/sourness and tangy fruit balance; with mild puckering sourness on the finish. Fairly crisp finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from sour/tart/tangy and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and light body; with a very smooth and grainy/acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected of 5%. Overall this is a fantastic fruited sour/wild ale. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of blackberries, fruity/funky/acidic yeast and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/refreshing to drink despite the moderately acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish; no overly lactic. Fantastic balance of juicy/jammy berries and Brett/Bacteria complexity; with a solid wheat/oat/malt backbone against acidity. Zero residual sweetness with crisp acidic/tangy dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding style example as expected of the brewery.
Tried
from Can
on 30 Nov 2019
at 18:20
8.4/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 9
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
750 ml bottle into tulip glass, bottled in 8/2019. Pours slightly pale golden straw color with no head retention or lacing. Some clinging bubbles on the glass, with a light amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy red/green apples, mango, pineapple, fruit skin/peels, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, apricot, melon, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, and grass; with lighter notes of wheat, cracker, white bread, pepper, leather/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of apple cider, mango, pineapple, fruity/funky/acidic/light spicy yeast, oak barrels, and light-moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy red/green apples, mango, pineapple, fruit skin/peels, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, apricot, melon, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, and grass; with lighter notes of wheat, cracker, white bread, pepper, leather/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and light yeast/oak tannin spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy red/green apples, mango, pineapple, fruit skin/peels, lemon, lime, orange, peach, pear, apricot, melon, white grape/wine, oak, hay, straw, and grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, pepper, leather/musty/lacto funk, white wine vinegar, and yeast/oak earthiness on the finish for a while. Fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of apple cider, mango, pineapple, fruity/funky/acidic/light spicy yeast, oak barrels, and light-moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with a great malt/sour/sour/tangy balance; with minimal puckering sourness after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from lingering sour/tart/tangy/spiciness. Light carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth and moderately grainy/acidic/tangy/tannic balanced mouthfeel that is great. Minimal warming alcohol for 8%. Overall this is a fantastic Graff styled sour/wild ale. All around fantastic complexity, robustness, and balance of apple cider, mango, pineapple, fruity/funky/acidic/light spicy yeast, oak barrels, and light-moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/clean/refresing to drink, with the modestly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish. Not overly lactic/tannic. Fantastic balance of juicy/vibrant apples, mango, pineapple, and Brett/Bacteria complexity; with nice barrel presence and pale/wheat malts against acidity. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp acidic/tangy/tannic dryness. A highly enjoyable offering, and outstanding spot on style example as expected of the brewery. Perfectly balanced between wild ale and apple cider flavors.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Nov 2019
at 05:21
8.1/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 8.5
16 ounce can into tulip glass, canned in 10/2019. Pours very hazy dark ruby red/pink/purple color with a small fairly dense and fluffy light pink head with poor retention, that reduces to nothing pretty quickly. No lacing on the glass, with a fair amount of streaming carbonation. Aromas of big sour/tart/tangy red cherries, fruit skin/pits, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, plum, pear, apricot, green apple, currant, red grape/wine, peppercorn, thyme, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Damn nice aromas with great balance and complexity of cherries, peppercorn, thyme, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt notes; with big strength. Taste of big sour/tart/tangy red cherries, fruit skin/pits, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, plum, pear, apricot, green apple, currant, red grape/wine, peppercorn, thyme, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness. Light-moderate fruity/lactic tart/sourness, fruit tang, and peppercorn spiciness on the finish. Lingering notes of sour/tart/tangy red cherries, fruit skin/pits, lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit, peach, plum, pear, apricot, green apple, currant, red grape/wine, peppercorn, thyme, hay, straw, grass, wheat, cracker, white bread, lacto funk, and yeast earthiness on the finish for a good bit. Awesome complexity, robustness, and balance of cherries, peppercorn, thyme, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; with an awesome malt/tart/sourness, tangy fruit, and spiciness balance; with no puckering/astringent flavors after the finish. Fairly crisp/clean finishing. Moderate increasing dryness from sour/tart/;tangy/spiciness and carbonation. Medium-plus carbonation and light-medium body; with a very smooth, moderately creamy/grainy, and acidic/tangy/tannic/sticky balanced mouthfeel that is great. Zero warming alcohol as expected. Overall this is an awesome fruited/spiced sour wheat ale. All around awesome cherries, peppercorn, thyme, fruity/acidic yeast, and moderate pale/wheat malt flavors; very smooth and fairly crisp/clean/refreshing to drink with the modestly acidic/tangy/tannic/drying finish. Not overly lactic/tannic. Awesome balance of big juicy/jammy cherries, Lacto complexity, thyme, and peppercorn spice; with a great pale/wheat malt backbone against acidity for the ABV. Minimal residual sweetness with crisp dryness. A really enjoyable offering, and impressive style example as expected. Not overwhelming on any aspect.
Tried
from Can
on 30 Nov 2019
at 05:10
6.8/10
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Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
16oz (thx, Brian C.!) at Ash's shared with Alex and Andrey. Appearance: hazy rose color with no head. Aroma: funky, cherry, lime. Taste: along the same lines. Overall: ok, good as a palate cleanser.
Tried
on 29 Nov 2019
at 02:34
7.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 6.5
American sour ale flavoured with lime, mandarin and coconut, bomber shared at De Koffer in Groningen. Snow white, loose and open, bubbly head on a misty straw blonde beer with somewhat khaki tinge. Aroma of strong lime juice indeed, wet straw, green mandarins, gypsum, coconut in an old dry way rather than the fresh coconut I was hoping for – and much more subtle than expected, crushed green gooseberries, sourdough. Crisp, very sour onset, fizzy carbonation accentuating the acidity even more, with very puckering effect – the beer’s natural sourness working together with the citric sourness of the lime and mandarin, no doubt; clean and slender white-bready malt base completely dried by ongoing sourness with a clear citrus flesh aspect (lime) and a somewhat ‘soapy’ character I think needs to be ascribed to the mandarin, which gives a ‘green’ and unripe impression here. Citric acidity and lactic sourness combined make for a strong acid burn in the end, with chalky and fruity notes lingering as well as a very dim, faraway earthy hop bitterish touch which vanishes again as quickly as it came. Quite vinegary in the end, with the coconut remaining remarkably vague, though certainly noticeable. Typical harsh acidic U.S. style sour, a bit too harshly so even for me; it was the mention of coconut that attracted me to this bottle, but even that element remained a bit understated, alas (probably due to age - I'm sure this aspect is much more prominent in a fresh sample...).
Tried
from Can
on 26 Nov 2019
at 16:12
7.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 7.5
Can from Holiday Market. Pours an unclear plum color with a finger of white foam that dissipates quickly. Tart blackberry on the nose with lemon, hay and wild honey aromas. Quite tart on the palate with blackberry and notes of strawberry, lemon and again faint honey. Tart finish that is quite dry. Lingering blackberry skin and seed with vinegar.
Tried
from Can
from
Holiday Market
on 25 Nov 2019
at 01:13
6.1/10
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Appearance 7
Aroma 6
Flavor 6
Texture 6
Overall 6
Fairly hazy golden with an off white head. Aroma of citrus, green weeds and mineral notes. Flavour is light moderate sweet and sour. Medium bodied with soft carbonation.
Tried
from Draft
at
BeerTemple
on 21 Nov 2019
at 19:06
6.1/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 5
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 5.5
Dark orange body with almost no head. Malt and chili aroma, rather faint. Chili taste with a bit of lime. Spicy finish.
Tried
on 09 Nov 2019
at 05:39
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 8
Overall 8
Tap @ The Annual Icelandic Beer Festival 2018. Pours hazy dark purple with a small white head. Notes of sweet elderberries, light lactic tartness, some oaky sweetness, light grainy.
Tried
from Draft
on 06 Nov 2019
at 16:55
8.3/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 7
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bottle @ The Annual Icelandic Beer Festival 2018. Pours dark purpleish red with a medium pink head. Notes of black currants, sweet oaky notes, light funk, subtle lactic acidity.
Tried
from Bottle
on 06 Nov 2019
at 16:55