Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Demon Fish)
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Demon Fish)Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Demon Fish)
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From:
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
 
Belgium
Style:
Brett Beer
ABV:
9%
Score:
83
Avg:
3.64 | pDev: 18.68%
Reviews:
40
Ratings:
53
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 14, 2015
Added:
Mar 01, 2005
Wants:
  3
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by teak:
Photo of teak
Rated by teak from Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -24.5%

Dec 07, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.57 by wethorseblanket from California

Jan 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.5 by GRG1313 from California

Nov 05, 2014
 
Rated: 3.5 by DantheMan75 from Wisconsin

Sep 29, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by IPAchris from Pennsylvania

Aug 21, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by DrBier from Pennsylvania

Jul 25, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 05, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by jaxon53 from Connecticut

Jun 29, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by jrfehon33 from Pennsylvania

Nov 29, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 16, 2012
 
Rated: 4.75 by the_beerist from Massachusetts

Jul 30, 2012
 
Rated: 3.75 by TheSacredRaritan from New Jersey

Apr 08, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by jfcaa193 from Canada (QC)

Feb 19, 2012
Photo of rmolledo
Reviewed by rmolledo from Florida

4.2/5  rDev +15.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
*aged bottle*

A: poured into an appropriate glass. nice hazy straw colored with a small white head. beautiful lacing.

S: spicy and fruity. malt and cheese like hop aroma.

T: malty, musty, fruity and phenolic. not as sour as I anticipated (this is my first wild ale). I get a candy sugar flavor in there somewhere. pretty tasty all in all. very dry finish.

MF: moderately high carbonation with a crisp dry finish.

D: I give this a great drinkability because I just about lost it when I read this was 9%. I was thinking like 4 or something. Very good strong sour ale.
Sep 03, 2010
Photo of kbutler1
Reviewed by kbutler1 from Minnesota

1.84/5  rDev -49.5%
look: 3 | smell: 1.5 | taste: 1.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 2
Bottle. Pours a straw yellow/gold with a 1-2 finger head. Aroma is more funk than sour with notes of fruit. Has a belgian smell to it. The taste is funk, alcohol, spice, then funk again. Slight bitterness to it. Not as crisp and dry as the style should be IMO. Too much alcohol taste and not even balance here. Mouthfeel is light/medium. Not as carbonated as the style I think should be. Maybe with time this would even out.
Aug 20, 2010
Photo of joe1510
Reviewed by joe1510 from Illinois

4/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
750ml

This was sent my way recently as an extra courtesy of the generous OldStyleCubFan, he also has good taste in baseball, thanks Todd! Demon Fish sports a tarnished copper body but takes on a straw golden appearance when backlit. There's a decent amount of haziness but this bottle just got in my possession a couple days ago so it's to be expected. The perfectly white head grew to two fingers easily and crackled down to a cap that looks like mold with clumps here and skimming there. Thin sheet lacing gets left behind after each drink.

Right off the bat there's a quick hit of diaper funkiness but it settles into pig farm, which really both smell similar now that I think about it. Musty attic plays a big role in the aroma as well. Cereal graininess is way, way in back if I dig deep enough. A touch of decomposing fruit makes its presence known too but the diaper/farm funkiness steals the show. This beer changes amazingly with each swirl of the glass, each and every time it's funky though.

The flavor takes a detour from the path the nose led me down. There's a quick hit of the aforementioned funk but it fades as nice notes of lemon and wildflower take hold. The wildflower is jammed in here by the fistful with that dusty, summer field quality I so thoroughly enjoy. There's a touch of maltiness on the finish that's somewhere in between cereal graininess and light caramel. This one drinks pretty easy. I thought it might be more of a chore with all the funk in the nose.

De Proef nailed the mouthfeel on this beer. It has that great Belgian airy quality that creates a light, frothy feel to the beer. Actually as this sits a minute the mouthfeel dies down upfront but the rest remains frothy. The finish is slightly dry with a touch of bitterness.

The mouthfeel really boosts the drinkability of this beer with the light airiness and although the funk would usually make me drink a little slower the quickly moving lemon adds some refreshment.

Demon Fish is another good brew in the Flemish Primitive series. The guys at De Proef really know how to make a good beer when they put their minds to it. This one is certainly worth a shot if you see it on the shelves. Thanks for the bottle, Todd!
Jul 18, 2009
Photo of jampics2
Reviewed by jampics2 from Ohio

2.98/5  rDev -18.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Bottle @ Buckeye Sour Tasting 2009. Wasn't a sour at all, but one of the many nice wild ales that were available. Overall, my least favorite of the 3 we tried - the Surly Bird, Pinhead, and this - the Demon Fish. Subtle differences added up and the Surly Bird was the best of the bunch!

A = Straw colored, nice amount of carbonation.

S = Smells like light malt and a serious case of the funks. Musty, horsehair, and a bit of stale hops.

T = Bretty and bold, but doesn't come together as well as the Surly Bird or even the Pinhead. A citrus taste up front then slammed by brett. A break from the funk yeilds a clean cereal grain taste, but it is dominated by some funky hangings-on.

M = Not good but not bad. Seemed perhaps a bit light in visco. for the style.

D = Suffers from the fact that it's not very interesting. Wouldn't want another, though I'm happy to have tried it (and only paid for a 4oz sample pour).
Jun 22, 2009
Photo of jjanega08
Reviewed by jjanega08 from Minnesota

3.21/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
A= pours a hazy straw color with a nice creamy frothy two finger head. Great retention and lacing on it.
S= a little lemon and orange citrus to it with small amount of funk and a tickly of sour.
T= interesting boozy, yeasty, fruity sort of taste. Not sour at all. Tastes like slightly spoiled oranges and funkyness. Interesting indeed.
M= a little dry finish and smooth.
D= average. Quite funky and fruity. Not my fav and I will prolly not have it again.
May 29, 2009
Photo of popery
Reviewed by popery from California

3.93/5  rDev +8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Bring on the funk. This beer has more funk than it knows what to do with. On top of that, it's sweetly funky, like a horse pooped in a glass of lemonade, and I mean that in the best possible way. Of course, dung in lemonade can only be so good, but I digress.

I like a good funky beer. I've been slowly stockpiling Avery 15, my previous holder of the funk crown. I wouldn't say that Demon Fish necessarily tops the Avery in pure funk, but it is more difficult to drink due to the funk. I got through about two thirds of the bottle and had to call it quits. My stomach was fomenting a mutiny. I'd bump down the drinkability further, but I don't think that de Proef' even expects anyone to finish a 750ml solo. To be fair, I attempted to share the bottle with a few other people. Only one out of three soldiered through their initial pour.

The flavor is sweet apples and lemons. There is some hop character in there, but it certainly wasn't at the forefront of my mind while I was drinking. The beer brings little tartness, so look elsewhere pucker-fiends. The feel was fairly smooth. I'd really like to give this beer a higher score for sheer audacity and funk, but I need to leave some room for other de Proef' offerings because I'm confident that I'll need it.
May 27, 2009
Photo of chiral3
Reviewed by chiral3 from Pennsylvania

3.62/5  rDev -0.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
I was pleasantly surprised by this beer. The bottle I obtained had no date, but the label was an image of some evil anthropomorphized bird with what appears to be another bird's carcass in the lower left.

Poured a dense straw-colored hue with a nice white head (maybe a finger's worth). Viscous enough that the floc and chunk remained suspended for the most part.

Farm, albeit dry farm and not wet. Horse. In my opinion it was not too sour. Rather, it impressed me as a solid Trippel that used a different yeast. The yeast was both at the forward and backward of the swallow; bookends containing a bright and clean malt. Again, solid beer.
Apr 12, 2009
Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Demon Fish) from De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
Beer rating: 83 out of 100 with 53 ratings