Farmer's Reserve Citrus
Almanac Beer Co.

Farmer's Reserve CitrusFarmer's Reserve Citrus
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From:
Almanac Beer Co.
 
California, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
Ranked #354
ABV:
7%
Score:
93
Ranked #4,035
Avg:
4.16 | pDev: 7.45%
Reviews:
101
Ratings:
725
Status:
Active
Rated:
Sep 01, 2023
Added:
Jun 02, 2014
Wants:
  42
Gots:
  121
Citrus and beer have made a great pair ever since the first lemon wedge was added to a frosty wheat beer. Here we expand on that tradition, melding a sour blond ale with the intensely aromatic zest of Buddha’s Hand citrons and meyer lemons along with the bracing tartness of Yuzu and Blood Oranges from Hamada Farms.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by CoryR:
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Rated by CoryR from Oregon

4.5/5  rDev +8.2%

Aug 01, 2014
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.31 by KensWorld from Florida

Sep 01, 2023
Photo of mothman
Reviewed by mothman from Minnesota

3.25/5  rDev -21.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3.25
Bottle. White head with lace. Clear golden color.

Tastes like sweet tarts. Sour. The citrus shows, but everything blends together with the sourness. Lemon and orange. Not bad, but not very complex.
Jan 28, 2021
 
Rated: 5 by TallGuyCM from California

Jun 11, 2020
Photo of GarrettB
Reviewed by GarrettB from Colorado

3.51/5  rDev -15.6%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5
November 13th, 2015 - A sour and citrusy beer, this straw colored ale has a head that quickly flattens to reveal the stark, calm surface of the beer and subsequently, a rich scent riddled with sourness and stone fruit. The flavor has a lovely sour tang, and with more peach and apricot, and flavors that are heavier, sweeter and riper than the aroma.
Jan 16, 2020
 
Rated: 3.75 by BarryMFBurton from Indiana

Jun 26, 2019
 
Rated: 3.19 by JLapadura from New York

May 03, 2019
 
Rated: 3.65 by curlybird from Pennsylvania

Dec 14, 2018
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Reviewed by rodbeermunch from Nevada

4.01/5  rDev -3.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This is basically Almanac's blonde base beer with all the citrus fruit you can imagine dumped into it. Pours a slightly hazy yellow, 1/3" white head that dissipates in average time. Aroma hits the lemon sour hard.

Taste, yum, a solid 6.5 on the 10 pt sour scale, its a real clean sour, like feels stainless steel meets white wine barrel amplifying the citrus content, nothing in terms of wood or funk going on, just clean sour meets orange and lemon notes all throughout. Abv is not an issue. Carbonation is right where it should be. Even though there is a ton of citrus in this, the citric acid/acidity is not a problem at any point, could crush a bottle of this by myself with minimal effort.

Still manages a slightly dry finish despite the heavy sourness and citrus like grapefruit, orange and lemon notes. At around $10 for 12oz, it is a decent deal I guess, availability tends to be good.
Aug 03, 2018
Photo of SHODriver
Reviewed by SHODriver from North Carolina

4.25/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
A: Poured into a Duvel tulip to a slightly hazed golden yellow topped by a finger and a half of dense white head which fades fairly quickly to a collar around the edge of the glass with minimal lacing
S: Smells of lemony tartness, doughy bread, a hint of sweetness, and a touch of funky oak
T: Taste is tart and sour lemons with some nice funk, slight oak, sourdough bread, and a little vanilla, Swallow is a little more lemony vanilla with some bread dough and slight lingering funk,
M: This beer has a body that is on the lighter side of medium with a slightly creamy mouthfeel. Carbonation is effervescent while not being prickly and the beer has a drying finish from the acidity.
O: Overall this is a really nice beer. Flavor and complexity is really nice. This one is about four years old but it hasn't seemed to age much. It's lived in my fridge which is probably why any residual bacteria didn't kick things into overdrive. Definitely worth a try if you can find it.
Aug 03, 2018
 
Rated: 4.4 by cd34 from Illinois

Jun 18, 2018
 
Rated: 3.8 by wisrarebeer from Wisconsin

Jun 10, 2018
 
Rated: 4.93 by StormAles from Canada (ON)

May 07, 2018
 
Rated: 4.45 by DFTKRFT91 from California

Feb 07, 2018
Photo of Zorro
Reviewed by Zorro from California

3.49/5  rDev -16.1%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Loud pop when the top is removed, very high carbonation level.

Cloudy yellow colored brew with a small white head.

Smells of sour and citrus. Scent of malt and vanilla. Smells of Bergamot orange, the oil in Earl Grey Tea.

Starts out very sweet and sour. Sour orange flavor and quite a bit of vanilla taste. You can really taste the wine barrel and just a guess it is a Chardonnay wine barrel. Strong with wild ale funk. But mostly it is sour.

Mouthfeel is good.

Over all a tasty sour ale.
Jan 24, 2018
 
Rated: 4.25 by Uconnelmo from Connecticut

Oct 12, 2017
 
Rated: 4.2 by liamt07 from Canada (ON)

Aug 25, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by BergBeer from Hawaii

Aug 02, 2017
 
Rated: 4.5 by armock from New York

Jul 15, 2017
Photo of teromous
Reviewed by teromous from Virginia

2.99/5  rDev -28.1%
look: 2 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
The shoulder of the bottle says: "FR CITRUS 1054061616"

Appearance: The body of the beer is a light opaque yellow. It pours without any head.

Aroma: It has a strong souring fruit aroma that is commonly found in Wile Ales.

Taste: Up front there is a tartness and just a bit of a musty character. It tastes like an average sour.

Mouthfeel: Moderate tartness and a light body. Very drinkable and easy on the palate.

Overall: It smells and tastes like an average sour. The label states that this is a "SOUR BLONDE ALE BREWED WITH BUDDHA'S HAND CITRON, BLOOD ORANGES, MEYER LEMONS, YUZU & AGED IN WINE BARRELS." Granted some of the sourness could be attributed to the lemons but other than that there is nothing that stands out from this beer. It tastes just like a normal pale malt sour. If there is any fruit flavor it is lost in the sourness of the beer and there certainly isn't any wine or barrel character. It's a decent sour beer but I wouldn't recommend it. I wouldn't pick it up again but it's a good enough sour that I would drink it if somebody handed me one.
Jul 04, 2017
Farmer's Reserve Citrus from Almanac Beer Co.
Beer rating: 93 out of 100 with 725 ratings