Tag Archives: Brett

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October 1, 2012

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New Belgium Peach Porch Lounger

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New Belgium Brewing Co.

Fort Colins, Co

Peach Porch Lounger

9.4% ABV

New Belgium‘s Lips of Faith is one of those series that continually cranks of consistently solid and creative. Every batch is something new and inventive and generally a big divergence from the previous brew. Peach Porch Rocker, their collaboration with G. Love – he of Special Sauce fame – continues that trend.

Marketed as a saison, PPL is brewed using grits – something that makes this Southerner smile – molasses, lemon peel and, of course, peaches. It clocks in at just north of 9%, aiding to the idea that this is a beer best enjoyed slowly whilst relaxing on your porch.

The pour is a slightly hazy golden sunset orange. There’s about two fingers of a really foamy, bubbly head topping it off, along with some really strong lacing and mild alcohol legs.

The funk from the Brett is the most noticeable thing on the nose. You definitely get the bite of lemon peel and the tartness of peaches there as well. Good bit of tropical fruits, too, with mango, papaya and a slight pineapple. There’s a very slight bready malt note, expected in a New Belgium brew. Just a t touch of sweetness to it as well but more funk over it

Best way to describe the taste? Like biting into a big ripe juicy peach. It’s incredibly rich and flavorful with big sweet and tart characteristics. Just a mild carbonation on the palate. On the back of the tongue, the citrus and bread notes are big. It develops into a sweeter note on the finish with a definite molasses character and flavorful peaches. A bit syrupy sweet, but the tartness cuts it nicely.

Like G. Love’s music – or at least the couple of songs I’ve heard – PPL is a funky but smooth. The sweetness of the peaches works well cutting the funk, but the tartness also works to compliment the Brett. And true to its name, it’s certainly a porch beer, even more so now that it’s starting to feel fantastic outside.

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August 16, 2012

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Westbrook Brett & No Mices

Westbrook Brewing Co.

Mt. Pleasant, SC

Brett & No Mices Belgian-style Pale Ale

6.4% ABV

I really do love what Brett can do to a beer, imparting a good funk but a nice, rich taste and sweetness. I also love barrel-aged beers, what with their oakiness and slight bite. And, I love Westbrook, easily South Carolina’s most adventurous brewery, which continues to crank out one awesome beer after another.

So when Westbrook puts out a Belgian-style pale ale brewed with Brett, aged in barrels for 10 months and then dry-hopped, well … I’m probably going to love it. That’s just what Brett & No Mices is, another entry in the Mt. Pleasant brewery’s barrel room series (and quite a barrel room it is).

This baby pours a murky copper orange color with about two fingers of a tight white bubbly head. There’s a really nice carbonation streaming up the edges of the glass. The lacing’s pretty weak and it’s got some mild alcohol legs to it, but it’s quite a nice looking brew.

A big Brett funk and a major oak character punches you in the nose on first whiff. There’s a touch of fruits, maybe a slight pineapple or orange. Definitely some wine characteristics, and a bit of apple and pear.

On the tip of the tongue you get a slight pinch of tartness. It’s got kind of a lighter mouthfeel and really good carbonation throughout. The funk is very prevalent on the end and the oak really shines through right at the back. I got a very mild toffee and raisin flavor toward the middle of the palate. It’s got a dry finish, which is a nice way to end it.

The nose on Brett & No Mices is more layered than the beer turns out tasting, but the taste isn’t any less delicious. The barrel aging blended with the magic of the Brett is a great mix, and all the characteristics of both are very present. Another winner.

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August 1, 2012

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New Belgium/The Lost Abbey Brett Beer

New Belgium Brewing Co. – Fort Collins, CO

The Lost Abbey (Port Brewing Co.) – San Marcos, CA

Lips of Faith: Brett Beer American Wild Ale

7.5% ABV

In my recent review of Brux I talked about collaboration beers and how they give drinkers a chance to sample something from a brewery they might not otherwise get to try. One of those beers was the Lips of Faith Brett Beer, an American wild ale cooked up by New Belgium in Colorado and The Lost Abbey in California. (The version brewed by Lost Abbey is called Mo’ Betta Bretta.)

Brett Beer is – surprise, surprise – brewed with Brettanomyces, a yeast strain any beer geek worth their salt knows all too well. For a brewery with “Belgium” in its name, it’s not surprising they decided to give the finicky Belgian yeast a chance to shine, along with Sorachi Ace, Target and Centennial hops for added pop. The result is a bready, Brett-y and juicy beer.

The pour is a really nice deep golden yellow color. It’s a bit hazy as a beer of the style would look. Topped with a finger of a head, though it dissipates quickly, and some really nice lacing and alcohol legs.

The nose is unmistakable. There’s definitely a strong Brett funk that hits first. It’s that classic wet hay kind of smell backed with a bit of tartness. You definitely get a good bread character to it, as well a sort of a sweeter green grape and citrus note as well.

There’s a nice wash of carbonation over the front of the palate first, followed with just a very mild tartness that pinches the front of the tongue and back of the throat. The taste buds really open up, and the flavors really pop on the end. Big juicy fruits – orange, a bit of apricot, some papaya – are the most prevalent. There’s also a nice lemon note to it as well. The sour notes aren’t around too long, and the solid mouthfeel mellows into a juicy aftertaste.

I was expecting a bit more funk or sourness, so it was kind of a letdown that it didn’t have that bite to it, and it sort of falls flat on the end. But those are minor inconveniences compared with the rest of the beer. The nose is great, the juicy tropical fruit flavors are delicious and it’s an all-around solid beer that really shows what Brett can do.

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July 27, 2012

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Sierra Nevada/Russian River Brux

Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. – Chico, CA 

Russian River Brewing Co. – Santa Rosa, CA

Brux Domesticated Wild Ale

8.3% ABV

One of the things I really like about collaboration beers is that it gives people the chance to sample an offering from a brewery they might not otherwise get to try. Recently, there’s been the New Belgium/Lost Abbey Brett Beer collaboration, and of course all the collaboration offerings from Stone. In South Carolina, we don’t get Lost Abbey or most of the breweries Stone team up with, so it’s nice to say you’ve tried something that at least has the name of an out-of-reach brewery on it.

And while ‘round these parts we get plenty of stuff from Sierra Nevada, we’re a long way away from anywhere that stocks Russian River. (Although that hasn’t stopped me from getting my hands on most of their sours and Pliny the Elder.) Fortunately, we can now count Russian River among the ranks of East Coast beers thanks to Brux, the “domesticated” wild ale they cooked up with Sierra Nevada.

Coming in at 8.3% and bottle conditioned with  Brettanomyces bruxellensis, Brux is a cellerable sour that promises to develop nicely over time. But I have little patience, so let’s get into it.

Brux pours a gorgeous sunset orange color that’s beautifully clear. There are a couple fingers of a head on top but it barely lasts long enough to appreciate it. No lacing on it but some fairly strong alcohol legs.

A big punch of Brett funk hits you first on the nose, exactly what you’d expect from a beer that trumpets the yeast of its label. It smells very effervescent, bubbly, light and crisp. There’s a big yeasty note to it and a chewy breadiness as well. That’s topped with a touch of sweetness, a bit of grass and a wisp of peppers, apples and lemon.

On the front of the tongue is a big pinch of tartness. The carbonation completely washes over your mouth and pops open the taste buds. It’s got a medium but bubbly mouth feel. The tartness is very mild on the back at first but then explodes into this sweet yeast, along with some light raisins, green apples and grapes. There are very mild hints of apricots, bananas, honey and some citrus. It’s topped with a nice dry finish on the back and a slight white wine note.

Sours are a new territory for Sierra Nevada, but the folks at Russian River know what they’re doing when it comes to making a great tart beer. Brux is a departure from many beers in the style as it’s pleasantly tart on the front, but settles more on the back, stopping just shy of being lip-puckingly sour. The “domesticated” part of the name makes sense when you look at it that way.

Bottom line: Get a bottle for now and a bottle for later. This one should be even better than it already is with a little time on it.

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July 13, 2012

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Anchorage Whiteout Wit

Anchorage Brewing Co.

Anchorage, AK

Whiteout Wit Bier

6.5% ABV

I’ve talked before about how impressive the beers Anchorage Brewing puts out on on a semi-regular basis are. They’re labor intensive, inventive and unique within their respective styles. They’re an incredibly inventive brewery and one that goes out on a limb, yet succeeds every time.

That trend continues with Whiteout wit, a wit bier that – *deep breath* – is brewed with lemon peel, black peppercorns and coriander, fermented in the tank with Belgian yeast, fermented again with Brett in French oak Chardonnay barrels and then bottle conditioned.

Phew. Reading a description that long makes you thirsty. Speaking of …

Whiteout has a crystal clear straw yellow color. It’s bottle conditioned, so there’s of course a big bubbly head on top. It does settle fairly quickly into a film. Nice, strong lacing and alcohol legs to boot.

On the nose are unmistakable big notes of Chardonnay and Brett funk. There are definite hits of lemon and a nice spiciness with an overall incredibly strong citrus note. You also get green apples and grass, giving the beer this big sprightly fresh smell. 

The citrus bite on the front of the tongue is incredibly. It’s like biting into a lemon, and then washing it down with a glass of Pine-Sol. (Editor’s note: DO NOT DO THAT.) There’s very strong carbonation throughout, which isn’t surprisingly given the bottle conditioning. It’s fairly bitter across the tongue. On the back, you get that big punch of lemon and white wine that fizzles and gives way to a yeasty sweetness. The body is fairly light and very refreshing.

What I love about Anchorage is how they make such monster beers where so much could go wrong, yet they nail it every time with brews that are intricate yet extremely balanced and enjoyable. Brett is a tricky yeast to work with, but it’s used perfectly in every Anchorage brew I’ve tried. It doesn’t mask the particular style of the beer, but heightens it.