Lambic and Wild Ale

Midnight Sun 3767

Aschwin de Wolf — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 13:48:06 PST

There is no shortage of American microbreweries releasing experimental beers that are fermented with Brettanomyces yeast. One interpretation that has become quite popular is to brew brettanomyces beers with a strong hop profile (a style I have referred to as Wild IPA or Barnyard IPA). Midnight Sun from Anchorage, Alaska, and Colby Chandler from...

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Jeff Sparrow on wild brews

Aschwin de Wolf — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:43:55 PST

Jeff Sparrow’s Wild Brews: Beer Beyond the Influence of Brewer’s Yeast is a major contribution to the literature on lambic beer. In this book the author does not only discuss traditional lambic but Flanders red ale, Flanders brown ale, and contemporary (American) wild ale as well. If anything, this book is testament that spontaneous...

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Boulevard Brewing Saison-Brett

Aschwin de Wolf — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 22:33:55 PST

I cannot claim to be an expert on the saison style but a limited edition saison with brettanomyces is hard to resist. It is even harder to resist when the reviews of this brew are generally encouraging and the bottle features a pretty label. A brief review. Very thick head (3 fingers), dissipating over time. Little lacing. Murky [...]

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Oxidized wines

Aschwin de Wolf — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:16:51 PST

The September 2009 issue of Imbibe Magazine features an interesting article about the growing interest in oxidized wines. Co-owner of New York City restaurant L’Artusi Joe Campanale is quoted saying: These are not ‘in-between’ wines… All the fresh fruit aromas and tastes diminish, making way for cooked or candied fruit; nutty, yeasty...

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Cantillon on hops

Aschwin de Wolf — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 18:37:22 PST

Cantillon is among the most traditional of lambic breweries but that has not deterred this family-owned brewery from offering a wide range of different beers. One of the most unique and innovative year round beers is Iris. Iris stands out from the other Cantillon beers because it only uses malted barley instead of the traditional [...]

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Gueuze blender Pierre Tilquin

Aschwin de Wolf — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:46:56 PST

The Belgian beer blog Hier Stroomt het Bier! has an extensive photo report on the birth of a new Gueuze blender from Bierghes in the French speaking part of Belgium (Walloons). Brewer Pierre Tilquin, who has learned the skills of traditional lambic brewing at 3 Fonteinen and Cantillon, expects to release his first Gueuze in [...]

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Victory Wild Devil Ale

Aschwin de Wolf — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:56:09 PDT

A little while ago when I was visiting family in East Texas in a “dry county” we had to make an effort to find a store that sells beer and wine. Fortunately, it only took a short drive across county lines to find a gas station with a small collection of beers and wines. This [...]

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Russian River Temptation

Aschwin de Wolf — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:45:19 PDT

Unless yet another wild ale from Russian River comes my way soon, this will be the last Russian River review for awhile. Temptation is a blond ale aged in used French Oak chardonnay barrels and is the brewery’s most recent 750 ml bottle release. Prior to tasting this beer I expected that I would enjoy [...]

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Russian River Beatification

Aschwin de Wolf — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 21:27:05 PDT

Is this possible to make a lambic in the United States? This depends on the definition of what constitutes a lambic (brewing process or location) but the ongoing attempt by Allagash to use the usual ingredients, a cool ship, and real spontaneous fermentation could do it. In the meantime, some of the beers made by [...]

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Russian River Consecration

Aschwin de Wolf — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 20:44:45 PDT

Russian River Brewing Company is one of the most prominent American craft breweries with a strong focus on wild ales. Unlike their year-round beers Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig, and Damnation, their wild ales are released as bottled limited editions or are only available for a limited period at their brewpub. Since their flagship beers [...]

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