Almanac Sourdough Wild Ale
Brewed with a mash of raw and malted barley, oats, rye, spelt and lemon, this beer was fermented in used wine barrels with a blend of Brettanomyces wild yeasts and Marla Bakery’s San Francisco sourdough yeast. The finished beer is dry-hopped with tropical Mosaic hops. This unfiltered ale is alive in the bottle: drink fresh for a bright, passionfruit aroma or age to develop the wild yeast funk.
3.5
154 reviews
Alameda, United States
Community reviews
Bottle. Pours hazy yellow with a white head. Aroma of citrus, floral, yeast, malt and bread. Flavor is sweet and fruity with some malt, coconut and herbs. Medium body, average carbonation.
Bottle. Hazy amber beer with an offwhite head. Sourish bready fruity dough citrus aroma. Bready dough spicy citrus flavour with some vinous notes.
This poured a murky orange color with a white head. Aroma was of caramel malt, light brett. Flavor similar, sweet, no remblence of a sour, moldy tea. Bleh.
375ml bottled Feb 2013. Batch 1. Pours a golden color with a bit of head. Mild lemon and wild yeast flavor. Marmalade.
Bottle shared by HornyDevil. Pours a hazy pale yellow with a white head. No hops left here in the aroma. Aroma is Brett and sourdough. Taste is one note, dry and slightly bitter. Not too impressed here.
Had this at an Almanac tap takeover at Uncle Henry’s Deli in Downey. This was my least favorite of their beers (which I loved). Very bitter. Some flavor of burning rubber. Drinkable, but not enjoyable.
My first Almanac that isn?t a sour bomb! Courtesy of ElGaucho, this is a nice chewy ale with noticeable lemon and funk. Leaves a clean palate and aroma is great and fruity.
Bottle aged 9 months. Probably the most enjoyable almanac beer I've had. Has the essence of sourdough. Some brett funk. Outstanding
Bottle almost shared with MF666 who fell asleep. Hazy yellow with a medium/large lacing white head. Bready, earthy, herbal nose with citrus behind it. Light bodied, feels a bit grisette/saisonish with some fruity notes and bread, dough, must, dry hay and grass. Very pleasant carbonation that makes is soft and fluffy. Light dry and fruity finish. Ok.
Looks like this is a love it or hate it kind of deal. I’m not a lover unfortunately. Just a little too much sourdough spice to make this work. Aroma is light toasty bread. Flavor is definite sourdough notes with a little bit of lemon faint. Finish is light and a touch sour again. Just not working together in the best way for me.
First almanac beer that I wasn’t a fan of. Smelled and tastes like old stale bread. Flat body and finish
Pours a golden color with a thick white head. Fruit, tart, funk, yeast, clove and malt aroma. Tart, apple, pear, funk, yeast, biscuit, floral, honey, clove, hop and malt flavors. Medium body and active carbonation. Decent bitterness and a nice funky tartness on the palate. Fruit, funk, tart and biscuit finish.
[ Bottle ][ ½ of 37.5cl ][ Tasting ][ ][ Tulip ][ 11.28.14 ]
hazy gold, large bubbled head dissipates fast, soft lacing. Ultra sweet celery nose, light honey biscuit drowned in sugar, burning. Equally sweet flavor, minor cinnamon root with heavy vegetal elements, thin with heavy gum esters in the dirty end.
[ 11.28-29 Tasting Ranking ]
01. Saison DuPont – 4.8
02. RR Temptation (b004) – 4.8
03. Orval (03/2014) – 4.7
04. RR Temptation (05/30/2013) – 4.5
05. Blue Lobster Little Lobster on the Prairie – 4.4
06. F&M Dochter Seizoen – 4.3
07. HF Le Serrasin – 4.2
08. F&M Lunaire – 4.1
09. F&M Paradisaea – 4.1
10. HF Arthur (01/2014) – 4.0
11. RR Sonoma Pride Amasa – 4.0
12. HF Flora b4 – 3.8
13. HF Nordic Saison – 3.8
14. De la Senne Crushable Saison – 3.8
15. RR Sonoma Pride Dauenhauer – 3.8
16. Prairie Puncheon – 3.7
17. Upright BA Flora Rustica – 3.6
18. SARA Stenciled Pages – 3.6
19. RR Sanctification – 3.5
20. Upright Flora Rustica – 3.4
21. HF Convivial Suarez – 3.4
22. SARA Cask 200 – 3.3
23. TH Paraguesia1 – 3.3
24. Upright Rose City Seven – 3.3
25. TH The Emptiness is Not Eternal – 3.2
26. Wicked Weed Bretticent – 3.2
27. SARA Saison Bernice – 3.0
28. HF Civil Disobedience 10 – 3.0
29. TH Handfarm b4 – 2.9
30. Wicked Weed Serenity – 2.8
31. Almanac Reserve Citrus – 2.4
32. Hopfarm Margo – 2.2
33. Almanac Sourdough – 2.1
Bottle. Golden colour with a white head. Aroma is yeast, malt, fruit. Flavour is yeast, malt, fruit, hop, pine, bread, citrus, brett. Nice beer.
Bottle - Batch 1 - Light funk, tart lemon and a nice sweetness. Clear gold with a rich white head. Lots of candied citrus and fruit with some funk. Smells great but only tastes OK.
Bottle shared by alexsdad06. Poured a hazy amber color with an average frothy tan head that mostly lasted with excellent lacing. Moderate to heavy dark fruit, spice, sour and chassis wood aroma. Medium to full body with a dry smooth texture and flat carbonation. Medium to heavy sour flavor with a medium to heavy wood and sour fruit finish of moderate to long duration. This is a solid beer.
4th November 2014
Tasting at Bruce’s pad. Thanks to Paul. Hazy gold beer, small pale cream colour head. Airy palate with decent fine carbonation. Airy malts, light vanilla creamy sweetness. Beautifully offset by floral lemon that has a mild zing. Airy finish. Very drinkable.
Bottle 375ml.
[ As Almanac Sourdough Wild Ale ].
Light unclear medium yellow color with a large, frothy to creamy, good lacing, mostly lasting, white head. Aroma is moderate to light heavy grape, tart, herbs, vegetables, barnyard notes. Flavour is moderate to light light heavy sweet, light to light moderate acidic and light to moderate bitter with a long duration, dough, grapes, wine, tart, fruity, funky. Body is medium, texture is oily to watery, carbonation is soft. [20140704]
375 ml bottle shared with Tmoney99. Pours a hazy golden color with a large off white head. The aroma and flavor have quite a bit of doughy bread, more funky tart than truly sour, dry, Bretty, herbal hops, interesting but not necessarily my favorite from these guys.
Bottle split at Bruce’s pad, thanks to Paulo, 04/11/14.
Hazed orange golden with a decent off white covering that retains well.
Nose is pissy, citric rind, brett, spice, tangy orange.
Taste comprises more brett, gone of pineapple chunks, citric rinds, spice, tarte mandarin overlay, soured citrics, light soap.
Medium bodied, fine carbonation, semi drying close with a light brett infusion.
Ok sour if a little basic.
Bottle shared in London - many thanks to Paul. Pours hazy yellow with a frothy, pure white head. The nose holds some tangy citrus, light lime, very slight plastic. Light sweet flavor with some pale bread sweetness, oily lemon rind, light floral notes. Medium bodied with fine carbonation. Lightly warming on the finish with further hop oils, grass, lemon peel, some general citrus zest. Decent.
Bottle shared at Bruces. It pours lightly hazy gold with a medium white head. The nose is earth, funk, lactic, light plastic, lemon rate, grapefruit and dough. The taste is bitter, funky, earthy brett, dough, lactic, natural yoghurt, sourdough, straw, barnyard and light alcohol, with a dry, funky finish. Medium body and moderate carbonation. Decent enough, without being a game changer.
375ml bottle from Plumpjack, dated Feb 2013. Great clear golden color with a large white head leaving excellent lacing. The aroma is highly tropical with pineapple, perfume, chardonnay, floral notes, and funk. The flavor is mildly tart with dry pineapple juice notes. Just a touch of sweetness, and a somewhat bitter finish. The mouthfeel is drying with medium body and lively carbonation. Good stuff, and you have to respect because sourdough is a ’Frisco classic.
Bottle thanks to bytemesis. Nose is light citrus and doughy but that might be the name messing with me. Pour is slightly hazy yellow. Taste is just kind of sweet and doughy with only a light tartness. Pretty good. Fruit seems subdued but I guess that’s just me
Bottle share thanks to Homer321. Fruity, apricot and citrus character, some funkiness. Fairly hazy, orange color, white head, lots of lacing. Fruity, more apricot, some bitterness, citrusy, orange peel character, light bretty like sourness.
Bottle... Poured clear golden with a thick head. Dry, bright, grainy, yeast forward and funky with added bitterness. Slightly astringent but a great drinking beer for me and wonderful experiment. Bread-like, earthy, grainy, not totally sour.
10/18/2014. From bottle. Hazy light orange with a thick white head. Yeasty aromas with hints of dough and apricot. Pretty mellow and really not sour or tart. Still, some interesting flavors and a great idea. I like this one.
I am torn on this beer. Its not really sour at all, it tastes ok but not great, and damn is it hard to drink, most filling beer ive ever had, i could not even finish my bottle. Alone, its not that great. As an execution of a concept, its terrific. If you dont know, sourdough yeast is a complete protein, you could literally liveoff of this beer! And it tastes as such, as food its pretty dang tasty, as a sour ale its a little hard to palate more than a sample. Extra points overall for being a real food.
Aroma: Bitter White Wine, Rye, Mild Lemon Peels
Appearance: Hazy Amber Hue, Passes Some Light, White Head, Decent Lacing
Taste: Bitter Raw Wheat, Yeast, Murky Bready Flavor
Mouthfeel: Average Carbonation, Medium Bodied, Mildly Bitter
Bottle: Hazy golden color with a foamy beige head that lasts surprisingly long compared to the rest of these beers. Extremely musty aroma, huge baked bread & clumpy yeast profile, with notes of herbal & ashy florals, incense, & medicinal tea leaves. Too much yeastiness, Brett gone wrong. Taste is extremely woody, tannic, & bready. Like straight up sucking on a stave, fresh inoculated with brettanomyces. Boozy, nearly harsh vinous notes with strange notes of wood, metal, & raw dough in the finish. Sharp, astringent body. Is this a fucking joke? Almanac just Punk’d everyone. Put out a line-up of extremely solid sour ales & then toss this abomination in the mix. Just cruel.