I've come to really enjoy brett beers. Perhaps my favorite I've had so far was a combination of two beers, Avery/Russian River's Collaboration Not Litigation Ale. Ever since I've had that, I keep an eye out for the little guys. I've heard a lot about this beer from Ommegang, and as I love their Bière De Mars, I had high hopes for this self described 'funkhouse ale'.
It pours a hazy golden yellow with a big two-three finger head with wonderful retention and lacing that lasts the whole glass. The wild twists here are the brett yeast and a definite blast of dry hopping. It's more like a saison than a wild-brett ale, but an incredibly well made brew. As a big fan of Duchesse, Struisse and other sour ales, I have a higher tolerance for sours than most of my friends.
This is a a real farmhouse ale, cloudy, unfiltered and some barnyard funk in the nose—but the taste isn't as full-on sour as I'd have hoped. The bretts have certainly had time to warm up, too—this batch was bottled in March of 2008. The finish is of ginger and warming alcohol and a little bit of mild pear-like fruit. I bought two bottles hoping it to continue to get funkier with the second, bottle-in fermentation, but it's still not funky enough for my liking. Sweeter than you'd expect based on how they're marketing the brew. It's still tasty, though.
Sasion flavors dominate—spices, pepper, lemon—but not as complex or sour as I would have hoped. I love it, but I am still on search for the best American WIld Ales available here in the midwest. Please sound off and tell me what else to try!
I'd give this an A- overall. Mostly because I had built this up so much in my head, not so much that I didn't like if not downright love it. If it was $9/bottle or less, I would have this all the time. 8% ABV.
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