Almanac Farmer's Reserve 3
Ale Aged In Wine Barrels With Strawberries and Nectarines
When summer comes to California’s Farmer’s Markets, the stands explode with mountains of mouth watering stone fruit and plump strawberries. Aged in used wine barrels for a year, this refreshing & tart wild ale was made with sweet coastal strawberries from Swanton Berry Farms and high-summer crimson baby nectarines from Blossom Bluff Farms. Here’s to our California summer harvest!
When summer comes to California’s Farmer’s Markets, the stands explode with mountains of mouth watering stone fruit and plump strawberries. Aged in used wine barrels for a year, this refreshing & tart wild ale was made with sweet coastal strawberries from Swanton Berry Farms and high-summer crimson baby nectarines from Blossom Bluff Farms. Here’s to our California summer harvest!
4.1
184 reviews
Alameda, United States
Community reviews
bottle shared by tom10101, thanks bro! pours hazy pale yellow with a small white cap, some retention and lacing. tamed citrus, juicy strawberries - never perfumey, mint, light to medium acidity - citric acid standing out, light woodsiness - oaky winey zinfandelish notes, few bitter herbs, low-fi yet appreciable microflora. bright carbonation, light body - very oily; tart citric and lightly spicy finish. very nice fruit sour.
Thanks to Rian for sharing! Nice floral nose. Fresh fruit, nice sour aroma. The beer starts tart and sourish-fresh. Smooth strawberries, yellow nectarines, fresh and deep-fruity sourness. Very great smooth-dry with hints of fruity sweetness. Fresh long and smooth aftertaste, great fresh fruits, intense, fruity, great!
Pours a pretty hazy gold color with an off white head. The smell is floral, strawberry, citrus. The taste is floral, fruity, citrus, very dry but balanced with a touch of sweetness. Light in body with effervescent carbonation. Really nice stuff!
Bottle 375ml.
Pours golden with low white head. Some lacing. Aroma is of strawberries, citrus. Taste is of strawberries, fruits, slight acidity. Very nice. Palate: Light body. Medium carbonation. Dry mouthfeel. Overall: Quite drinkable. Very nice fruits.
Pours a hazy golden with a small white head that leaves some lacing. Nose is of fruits soaked in wine, strawberries and lightly sour (not too acetic). Taste is of strawberries straight up with some red wine and not too acidic (a nice change of pace for Almanac in my experience). Body is light to medium, carbonation moderate and mouthfeel just vinous. Overall the best Almanac beer I’ve had thus far and pretty solid. I’d drink that again!
Bottle (375 ml). Split with the Quebec crew. From cparles, thanks!
Appearance: Clear bright golden with a small white head and little lacing.
Aroma: Bright but delicate strawberry presence along citrus, light wine notes and brettanomyces.
Taste: Light sweetness followed by a burst of strawberries, moderate tartness, almost no acetic presence, citrus, a touch of wine and hints of oak.
Palate: Light to medium body. Medium carbonation. A tad winey mouthfeel (it’s the component where the barrel-aged treatment is the most obvious, though it’s still quite subtle). Fruity and moderately dry finish.
Overall: Superb strawberry sour beer (citrus too, but the strawberries are dominant). A lot of strawberry beer are awful with plastic/rubber notes, but there’s nothing like that in the one, just a bright strawberry presence. Acidity leven isn’t throught the roof and the barrel treatment isn’t overdone, which make it quite drinkable. Complex, delicate and tasty. I loved this one.
Rating #4800!:
Hazy deep copper and blonde coloured body with a bit of a tan head that fades very fast. Aroma of sour grapes, cherries, raspberries, yeast, sour oak, gueuze and a bit of apple sweetness. Light-bodied; Tart start with a bit of a raspberry flavour, some light cherry and oak notes and a very smooth herbal and grassy flavour to couple with the very light malt. Aftertaste is more tart than sour and more cherry than raspberry, but with a bit of a subtle complexity, a nice finish. Overall, a good beer, but not superb nor worth searching out for - there are better beers in this style that are readily available. Nice to try, and I’m glad to have it for a rating milestone (on the hundreds). I sampled this 37,5 cL split bottle purchased from Super Jr Market (BestDamnBeer Shop) in San Diego, California on 07-June-2013 for US$10,99 sampled at home in Washington on 15-November-2014.
Bottled: Summer 2013 (label), Purchased: June 2013, Sampled: November 2014.
Hazy golden pour with a thin cream head. The nose is funkiness with strawberries but in a tart way. Very nice flavor of funk, wood, malt and light strawberry influence. Nice lasting finish as well.
Off the hook, pure sour strawberry liquid bliss, i hope they make this again. Really knockout beer. Pink body and head, tons of alpine strawberry notes and flavors plus some slight green and earth to balance ot.
Bottle shared by daknole. Thanks bro!
The beer is hazy gold with a thin, wispy cap. Aromas of strawberry, funk, citrus, oak. Lovely aroma and the flavor does not disappoint. Beautiful balance and teeming with fruit character. Strawberry and juicy oranges with a piquant finish. I would love to have this again. Highly recommended.
"Really nice interplay between the berries, citrus, barrels and funk in this brew. Light in the mouth but acidic and crazy complex. Medium sour. Best of the 3 Farmers Reserve so far, and they’ve all been nice."
From notes, consumed on 7/30/2013. 375 ml bottle into a Belgian snifter. Hazy yellow with a finger of off-white head that fades moderately. Aromas of funk, tart fruit, wine, light strawberries. Tastes of big tart fruit, wine, yeast, funk. Medium-light body with a dry finish.
Bottle. Earth and sour yeast aroma with some fruit. Flavor has light berry that cuts the sourness. Dry finish.
Bottle thanks to the local group for sharing. Pours a cloudy light orange with a small foamy ring of head. Aromas are strawberry syrup, fresh squeezed lemons, barnyard brett funk, and wet, musty wood. Tastes like fresh strawberries, sour oranges, barnyard, and white wine. Moderately sour with a nice sharp, tart finish. Very good sour.
Thanks to Muthacack over on RBT. Pours a hazy golden color with a slight pink hue to it with a thick white head that lingers. Aroma is a bunch of funk, citrus and a hint of strawberry. The tartness in the taste is right on the money with this one. A nice blend of citrus and strawberry but it isn’t over powering. The tartness and fruit complement each other nicely. Finish is dry, tart with a pleasant fruitiness. Fantastic beer.
Bottle thanks to Jimmy. Pours bright hazy yellow with substantial carbonation. Huge barnyard funk reminding me of the best of some Belgian farmhouse ales. The fruit in this beer is settled but there are hints of chardonnay wine barrels. Refreshing and delicious.. Well done. Need more from this brewery.
Bottle received in trade. Thank you Bytemesis! Pours hazy pale golden with a frothy white head that slowly dissipates while leaving some thick lacing on the glass. Smell is sour, fruity and tiny phenolic with crackers, frozen strawberries, mandarin oranges, lemon juice, ah, dry soil, white pepper corns, white grapes, moist wood and barnyard. Taste is sour and fruity with crackers, smashed strawberries, unripe mandarin oranges, lemon juice, orange juice, hay, gooseberries, green grapes, white wine vinegar, moist wood, lime juice, dry soil and barnyard. Mouthfeel is very dry, tart, mouth-puckering and light to medium bodied. Finish is sour and fruity with crackers, lemon juice, mandarin oranges, blood orange juice, frozen strawberries, hay, unflavored yoghurt, lime juice and hay. Tasty and very refreshing!
Bottle at Foeder Teaser Tasting. Somewhat hazy golden beer with a small white/light pinkish head. Woody fruity aroma, oranges, strawberries, nectarines, vinous, grapes, grassy, citrus, biscuits, grapefruit, some peach. Sour fruity flavor, strawberries, citrus, grapefruit, nectarines, rubber, mango, vinous, floral, some bready notes. Sour balanced finish with strawberries, hay and nectar. Really good.
Bottle at home with the wife. Pour is slightly hazy straw with a small white head that quickly dissipated. Ripe berries, lemon, biscuit, hints of brett, tangerines, tannins, and oak in the aroma. Taste is fruity, white wine, tangy, orange peels, earthy, grassy, honey, strawberry juice, raspberries, and wood with a medium sour finish. Light body with high carbonation. Solid summer refresher.
Soft straw blonde pour with 1 finger of thin fizzy white head. Wonderful aroma, fully ripe strawberries upfront with a wonderful lactic acidity and subtle peachy notes. Awesome flavor, full acidity upfront that builds throughout to the finish. Strawberry rules the taste with a subtle stone fruit note in the background.
Bottle at tasting. I really enjoy the berry-centric sours and this did not disappoint. Sour strawberries all over this, not overly tart but enough to make it very good. Strawberries were sublime!
Bottle. Mostly clear light orange pour. White head. Sour strawberry with white wine character. This is incredible. Awesome beer.
Bottle. Sour citrus, strawberry preserve, warhead candy, with clean finish. This a very tart with the sweet berry notes underneath. Great sour that is a little heavy on the sour end for my liking but my buddy loved it.
Pour is extremely hazed yellow with a white head that disappears immediately. Nose is strong brett and barrel. leathery, light tangerine skin and a touch sour. Taste is a little brighter. Much more fruity brett, pineapple, peach, tangerine. Leathery and dusty towards back with a moderately sour finish and strong carbonation. Light body and prickly on the palate.
Sample at Kurtkeller 006: Cascade-tastic 01 on 02/21/2014. Hazy golden color with a medium white head that dissipates steadily. Partial rings of lacing on the glass. Strawberry, cloves and yeast in the nose. Medium-bodied with flavors of sweet strawberries, nectarine, oak and funky yeast. The finish is fruity with a strawberry and oak aftertaste. Good beer all around.
At Jupiter during Sour Sunday 2014. (my first one from this brewery)
Almost clear orange/golden with a small head. This was a suprise, really refreshing and with a pleasant sourness. Berries, oak, funk and strawberries. Quite a lot of bubbles and with a nice balanced finish.
This one poured a lighter orange color with a white head. Aroma was of strawberries, seeds, and light cheese and skins. Flavor was strawberries and nectarines, light funk and candy juice too.
Bottle shared by cpetrone84. Strawberry aroma some bread medium high sour. Dryish finish. Med light carb.
Just wonderful, drinkable creation. Funky, fruity, and mildly tart. Unique, tasty, complex. Purchased from California.
(375ml bottle) clear gold, fine white bubbles. Nose of honey, tart strawberries, light acetic acid, fruity, peaches. Taste of tart apricot, light acetic acid, strawberries, honey, citrus is hard to detect, very well balanced sour, light lemon too. Great seltzer finish.