My thanks go out to Jeff Halvorson, first for putting on Where the Wild Beers Are, and second for holding it later in September so that I could attend. Where the Wild Beers Are is a sour and wild ale tasting that was held yesterday at Stub & Herbs in Dinkytown. For those who have never been, it is a great event for which the cost of admission is a 750 ml bottle of sour beer. The beers that attendees bring are the beers that are sampled during the event. Each bottle buys the donor ten samples. A simple yet elegant scheme.
I missed the event last year and so was excited when I saw the date posted for this year’s tasting. I had intended to bring two or three bottles and wile away the entire afternoon sampling great wild beers. I had even purchased the beers I wanted to bring. Sadly, real life intervened and other responsibilities made that an unwise way to spend my day. I wasn’t going to miss it though, and in the hour and a half that I had I greatly enjoyed the beers I got to taste. Here are some of my favorites.
2006 Cantillon Iris – Traditionally lambics are brewed with 30% unmalted wheat and aged hops that add no flavor or bitterness to the beer. Iris is a rare lambic made from 100% malted barley with fresh hops added to the beer at two points in the brewing process. It is delightfully light and refreshing. Vinous, tart, and dry as a bone, it has some nice peach and pear fruitiness and peppery spice. The barnyard and leather character is light. This is a great beer for a hot day in the sun. It was my second favorite of the day.
Russian River Consecration – This was my favorite beer of the day and one that I went back for more than once. It is a dark amber beer made with black currants. The flavor is a combination of chocolate, caramel, and tart berries with underlying barnyard funk. Consecration is definitely a funky sour beer, but not in any way over the top. Russian River is one of those breweries with a larger than life reputation. They just might be deserving of it. Tasting this made me want to open the bottle that I have been holding in the basement for a while. Great beer!
Lift Bridge Raspberry Lambic – Who knew the guys at Lift Bridge had brewed a framboise? This was apparently the one and only bottle in existence. While lacking some of the complexity of the other beers, it was not a bad effort from the young Stillwater brewery. The aroma sported huge berry notes and some brettanomyces funkiness. The flavor followed suite with tart berry dominating and light barnyard funk in the background. It was light, dry, and refreshing.
3 Fonteinen Sharbeek Kriek – Kriek is a young lambic that is aged on cherries. The traditional cherry of Kriek is the Sharbeek cherry, a regional variety grown in the area around Brussels where true lambic is produced. The best way to describe this beer is tart cherry pie. If you can conjure up that taste for yourself, then you have this beer. My third favorite of the day.
I tasted many more beers and would gladly have spent another hour and a half tasting even more. I envy those who did not have to leave. I look forward to next year’s event.