Telegraph Reserve Wheat
This intensely sour "wild ale" recalls the earliest rustic beers crafted centuries ago before brewers had an understanding of controlled fermentation. Brewed with the addition of lemon verbena, as well as lactobacillus and brettanomyces. Telegraph Reserve Wheat is an all-together different beast from modern beer. Not for the faint of heart, this special brew is available in extremely limited quantities.
3.6
245 reviews
Santa Barbara, United States
Community reviews
[3/1/15] Draught at The Beer Junction in Seattle. Clear yellow. Lovely sour aroma, fruity, with some lacto and lemon. Sour flavor, lactic and fruity with some lemon. Medium-bodied.
Draft at Special Brews. Pale, hazed yellow, white head. Great sour-tart aroma. Perfect juicy body, tart sour, great tasty beer.
Draught. Pours a hazy goldwn color with a moderate white head on there. Nose has some sour light fruit to it with a moderate amount of wheat coming through. Taste is fairly sour, but feels light and manages to stay refreshing and easy to drink.
2/10/2015. On tap. Pale yellow with a white head. Fruity and spice aromas, a bit sour, but very balanced. Refreshing sipping beer.
Bottle. Batch 136. Aromas of lemon, lactic sourness. Sour, lemon taste. Cloudy yellow with no head. Too sour .. maybe lemon verbena was too much .. or lactobacillus was predominant. Drinkable but not the best berliner wiesse or sour beer for that matter.
Straight-up box wine. Lacto, brett, sour nose - reminds me of Fetzer singles. I love sours but not this one.
draft at Blue Monk, Buffalo NY. By far my favorite from Telegraph so far. lemon blonde pour. lemon, some bile in the nose. Lemon tartness, some tropical notes, tart & sour with a touch of sweetness. really enjoyable
Cloudy yellow gold. Aroma lemon lime yogurt. Tastes like lemon ricola drops. Slight wheat, slight brine. Dry sharp finish. Sorta watery. refreshing slight body.
Bottle. It’s pretty good, but the "not for the faint of heart" bit in the description kinda reminds me of a standup comic saying they’re about to get edgy and then talking about something like airplane food. It’s a decent sour wheat but it’s pretty mild and laid back. Lemon and herbs along with some lacto and fruity brett funk. Enjoyable.
Pours a pale straw yellow with light fizzy white head. Tartness, wheat, and funk on the nose; follows onto the palate. Finishes tart and dry. Not real impressed with this.
750mL bottle, Batch 67.
Aroma has a nice light wheat character with some moderate Brett character, mostly fruity but with some barnyard funk as well. Light acidity with moderate citrus character and some lemon verbena.
Pours a fairly clear, pale yellow gold with a big, pillowy white head that slowly but steadily recedes. Light leaving and small legs.
Flavor has a medium light acidity with quite a bit of citrus character, especially lemon. Light what character. Medium light peppery phenolic notes with some moderate Brett. Brett character is mostly tropical fruit and cherry pie with light barnyard funk. Nice dry finish with some pepper phenolics and a bit of citrus.
Mouthfeel is light bodied with medium high to high carbonation. Low astringency and low alcohol warmth.
Overall a surprisingly decent beer with some nicely balanced phenolics and citrus character. Light acidity adds a bit more complexity as doors the nice, fruity Brett character.
Golden yellow color. Light fragrant lemon flower scents. Clean light smooth citrus sprite. with light lemon sour wheat taste. Refreshing.
Bottle (750ml): Hazy, golden with no head or laze. Dominated by brett. Lactic. Not classic since brett dominated but it is sour and yeast and has a creamy, cheese lactic profile. Dry, sour and not bitter. Medium weight and medium to medium long. Citrus (lemon). Bretty and lactic on the palate. It’s ok but not great. A long way behind the Bear Republic Tartar.
Not classic.
Hazy light yellow pour at the brewery. Nice lemon nose - no sulfur here! Tart, slight bread character and lots of lemon citrus. Higher ABV than a traditional Berliner, but still quite drinkable.
Very light colored pour. Very thin head. Wheat filled flavor with a refreshing sour kick. Strong wheat after taste. Great tasting beer overall.
Drank on tap at the brand new tasting room in Santa Barbara. Overall good wild ale, golden/pinkish pour, nose is tart, berries, taste is tart and berries, good sour.
Poured from the bottle into a tulip. Straw/hay yellow color with minimal white head. Aroma of lemon, ketchup and some funk. Crisp, tart, lemony taste with a bit of barnyard funk thrown in. Wheat on the finish, which is very mellow. Very good on a hot day.
750 ml bottle shared by me (from wavers1 I believe). Pours a slightly hazy yellow golden color with a medium plus sized white head. The aroma and flavor have lemony citrus, wheat, some funk, mild Brett notes, mild lactic sour character. This seems to have held up pretty well for a beer bottled in 2009.
Backlog review, bottle tasted 06/29/2011. Pours hazy gold, thin head, slight lacing with lively bubbles. Aroma is yeast, lightly fruity, funk, hay, hints of lemon, wheat malts. Taste is mildly sour, juicy lemon with long citrus aftertaste. Light body, fills out as it warms. Decent.
Pours a cloudy light yellow with a sizeable head. Nose is notes of acid, citrus, and grain. The palate is dry with zippy carbonation, and flavors of lemon, rich wheat, and lacto. Refreshing, crisp Berliner.
750 ml bottle given to me around three years ago by JoeTheYounger (I think this might be the original batch). Pours a slightly hazy light yellow color with two fingers of white head and a champagne-like effervescence that quickly reduces. Aroma of bretty funk, zesty lemon, and a bit of herby lemon verbena. Flavor of tart and funky brett, lacto / yogurt sourness, lemon, unripe apple, lemongrass, and some mellow wheat. Semi-dry finish with some lingering light funkiness. Looks like the brett and lacto have really come out in the three years that this has been aging, but this is actually not so complex/nuanced as I might have hoped. (207, 802)
750ml bottle, shared by alexsdad06. Bottled on: 1/12/09. Clear golden color. Thin white head. Couple bits of lace. Some fine particles visible in the body. Good orange citrus, kind of floral aroma. Some rosewater. Good light tart taste, moderate sweet. Complex, floral, lightly sour wheat beer.
Pours hazy golden with no head
Aromas sour yeast, lemons, wheat
Nice fresh zesty taste of lemons and raspberries. Bit watery ending
750 ml bottle to snifter. Looks good; a hazy golden orange with fluffy white head that dissipates into lacing. Smells tart and wheaty. Tastes like it smells with light notes of banana. Good on the palate. A good Berliner.
From bottle at HOTB. Medium wheaty nose with a bit of sour character. Cloudy pale with thin head. Medium body with medium carbonation. Mild sour Brett notes but overall a bit watery. A decent level of sourness but not assertive. Wheat-lemon after.
Pours a deep hazy gold with no head. Aroma of lemon, funk and wheat. Taste is tart lemon, Brett funk and sour wheat. Nice sour wheat.
750ml bottle from Binny’s Lincoln Park. Batch #100. Pours a hazed yellow-gold colored body with a finger-width, fizzy, white head that dissipates slowly and leaves a nice lacing. Aroma is tart lemons and wheat with an even amount of lactic acid and bretty funk. A bit of a verbena spiced note with some apples and a slight white grape. Flavor is similar. Crisp, moderately tart wheats with a nice bretty funk and lactic acidity. Lemony with a mild verbena spice, apples, and a bit of a vinous touch. Gets somewhat earthy towards the end before finishing dry and tart with a nice funk, light spicing, crisp wheat, and lemony note. Lengthy aftertaste following a crisp, medium-light body and a moderate carbonation. Overall, a really nice Berliner Weisse. Tart and funky, but well balanced, crisp, and easy drinking. Good one.
Sample from burgers and brews sacramento. Color was cloudy gold. Taste was wheat overpower with a slight sour finish.
Cloudy yellow with no head but good carbonation. Aroma is sour lemon candy, gooseberry, peach blossom. Slightly tart mouthfeel, good body, citrus finish. Taste is lemon, white peach, coriander, lemongrass. Nice.
Pours a golden apricot with little head. The nose is cinnamon, wild yeast, sour apples, and tart grapes. The flavor is smooth with tart apples and grapes.