Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Rat Rider)
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Rat Rider)Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Rat Rider)
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From:
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
 
Belgium
Style:
Brett Beer
ABV:
9%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.79 | pDev: 10.82%
Reviews:
26
Ratings:
38
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 30, 2017
Added:
Mar 01, 2005
Wants:
  1
Gots:
  1
No description / notes.
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Rated: 4.1 by emerge077 from Illinois

Jan 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4.29 by Farinag16447 from Florida

Jun 26, 2015
 
Rated: 3.25 by JoelClark from Idaho

May 21, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by wethorseblanket from California

Jan 14, 2015
 
Rated: 3.75 by MaseFace from Kentucky

Mar 02, 2014
 
Rated: 4 by jaydoc from Kansas

Nov 13, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 05, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by drewone from California

Feb 26, 2013
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.49/5  rDev -7.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to wethorseblanket for sharing this one at jmgrub's birthday tasting.

Pours a hazy honey orange with a foamy bone colored head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small dots of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, and Brett. Taste is much the same with band-aid and smoke flavors on the finish. There is a mild amount of Brett bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that is drinkable but pretty funky.
Feb 26, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by DmanGTR from New York

Feb 04, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by t0rin0 from California

Nov 16, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Dec 17, 2011
 
Rated: 3 by Rochefort10nh from New Hampshire

Nov 25, 2011
Photo of SubpoenaDeuces
Reviewed by SubpoenaDeuces from California

4.02/5  rDev +6.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
A: very light color, pilsner almost, golden to dark yellow, nice three finger head with moderate lacing

S: citrus, sour grapes, a lemon zest to it and a kiwi undertone

T: very mellow on the palate, imparts a sweetness similar to most belgian goldens with that biscuity maltiness, pillowy soft sweet finish, not exactly comparable to the American wild ale type, but still very well done, the sourness of the Bretanomyces is very restrained, the sour undertones come near the end and are almost hand in hand with the ligh hops. The untrained palate would almost mistake this for a more malty pilsner.

M: good goating for its light appearance, takes a few seconds to absolve the taste, good coating and lingering aftertaste of mellow hops.

D: Overall, very drinkable, not exceptionally noteworthy, and rather cost prohibitive, for the same price you could drink damnations all day which I feel is superior in almost every category, alas that is comparing different classes of beers. One thing I will note is the exceptional covering of the 9% alcohol, it is imperceptibly hidden in a sweetness and the floury maltiness. Perfect for entry level beer drinkers with ABV interests.

Narrative: "nah nah, just a couple days" he lazily smiled, "just until I get my things together." How could you say no? He was such a close friend in high school, sweet, cloying, palpable, but now he's dominating 2/3rds of your living room as his capricious abode. "See the plan is, I am getting my pilots licens-" you start to dreamily daze off while looking into his eyes, there's something empty to him, yet intoxicating at the same time, "yeah so basically after I foguht that guy I was out of Cici's pizza and it was a shithole anyway" he continues. Why are you letting him stay here? there's nothing exception about him but you just incurred signifcant expenses making him a nice dinner, it, wow his eyes look like poolwater, just a sweet discountenance that lures you in. "OH SHIT NETFLIX! ABOUT TO ADD SOME TITES! Thats what I call titles" ok at this point he's getting a bit irritating, but the way his bicuspids fortuitously lean against his incisors, that smile, he could leave his ASICS gym bag on your Z Gallerie coffee table all week. "Sure..sure.." you meekly reply, knowing that this short stay will be fulfilling, yet deceptive.
May 04, 2011
Photo of metter98
Reviewed by metter98 from New York

3.9/5  rDev +2.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
A: The beer is hazy yellow in color and has yeast particles floating in suspension. It has wispy patterns of bubbles floating on the surface and a ring of bubbles around the edge of the glass.
S: The smell is somewhat funky and has light to moderate aromas of sourness in the nose.
T: The taste has flavors of fruits and yeast along with hints of smokiness. There are some notes of spices in the finish.
M: It feels medium-bodied on the palate and has a moderate amount of carbonation. There is a bit of dryness, particularly in the finish.
D: The beer isn't that difficult to drink but it is a slow sipper.
Mar 01, 2011
Photo of Tripphop
Reviewed by Tripphop from Virginia

3.03/5  rDev -20.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Never has the term 'horse blanket' been more appropriate. The color is nice, a hazy orange-gold with a pithy head with slick oily bubbles. This beer reeks of soggy grain and dank soil. There is a light citrus note that fades in and out through the wafts of hay and sweaty wool. The taste is refreshingly matched. A light cidery snip is quickly overcome by earthy sour grain. It gets better with each sip and the finish is super long. Once the finish begins to fade it leaves a mushroomy orange peel covered in dirt taste that is quickly washed away with another sip. Needs some good cheese.
Feb 20, 2011
Photo of GRG1313
Reviewed by GRG1313 from California

3.54/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3 | overall: 3.5
Pours clear orange amber with a quick fading white head.

Nose is big pure bananas..period.

Mouthfeel is medium bodied and well balanced with nice carbonation.

Flavors are layered and complex. Fruit carmel front to a toasty mid palate that goes to green herbs, green pepper, celery and light salt. Flavors are good and the bottle is recent but there is a little "stale" taste that goes away towards the green herb bitter finish.

Entire flavor profile improves as one drinks it, there seems to be something "just missing" from making this a really good drink. Would likely go well with most food profiles
Feb 05, 2011
Photo of stakem
Reviewed by stakem from Pennsylvania

3.06/5  rDev -19.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Bottle care of h0ser81 on New Year's Eve served in a snifter. Pours a clear light golden yellow. Small tiny particulate is stuck in suspension when you take a close look. A finger of white head forms that quickly recedes to a thin film across the top and sticks in spots to a glass.

The aroma of this brew is stanky cheese mixed with a cardboard-like note. A bit of fruit like apples and apple skins is noted across the middle and sulfur brings in the back. The longer this brew sits in the glass and warms up, the more it starts to smell like a port-o-potty. I use port-o-potty selectively here because it quite literally smells of an aweful mix of certain parts that is attempted to be covered up by an essence of apples and funk. Regardless, there are bits and pieces of this that are enjoyable before it warms.

This brew encompasses every aspect of the aroma and puts a flavor to it. Tastes of lacto, cardboard and apple skins are immediately evident. There is a lingering clashing sweetness reminescent of unfermented wort that produces a pronounced flavor without getting too sweet. Earthy and herbal hops cling in the mouth providing a fair contrast to the sweetness.

This is a medium to light bodied brew with low amount of carbonation. A tangy amount of alcohol is noted. This one was a little too clashing for me, I wouldn't want more than a glass and even then a glass was hard to finish. I appreciated the opportunity to try this brew, thanks Jim! However, at $21.95 a bottle I will not be looking to try the other primitive offerings.
Jan 04, 2011
Photo of BuckeyeNation
Reviewed by BuckeyeNation from Iowa

3.95/5  rDev +4.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Faintly foggy amber with lemon edges and swirling showers of fine yeast that slowly sink to the bottom of the glass. The alabaster colored crown peaked at two fingers and isn't giving ground willingly. Interesting foam topography and attractive lace easily allow the good score to be granted.

The nose is pale malty, musty, earthy, herbal, spicy and funky. The barnyard quality of the wild yeast doesn't overwhelm the other aromas (like Belgian ale yeast), which makes for a balanced and enjoyable experience.

Rat Rider tastes like a well-brewed BSPA with a modest contribution from Brettanomyces. It tastes more like the former, which is why the above style makes the most sense. Even though this bottle has probably been aged for a bit (it hasn't been in my possession that long), it has held up as only high-ABV Belgian ale can.

The white bready pale malts are slightly sweet, the hops still manage a decent amount of countering bitterness, and the various yeast strains make up the lion's share of the flavor spotlight. This is an especially herbal-earthy-spicy member of the Primitive Wild Ale series, although it's been way too long since the last one for any valid comparisons to be made. It's also pleasingly tangy and the alcohol is buried without a trace.

Mouthfeel is really the only area in which age has taken a toll. Even then, more bubbles would have assured the next highest score. A muted 'pop' on cork extraction was the first clue that the beer wouldn't be expansive and silky in the mouth.

In the final reckoning, Surly Bird, Pig Nun and Pinhead are my three favorite offerings in the De Proef Flemish Primitive Wild Ale series. Spoon Whacker and Rat Rider are right behind... and Demon Fish is pure evil. This is delicious beer if you like BSPAs and don't mind a little sourish funkity funk.
Nov 28, 2010
Photo of berpwillie
Reviewed by berpwillie from Pennsylvania

4.15/5  rDev +9.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
pours a very hazy golden color with a inch of very fluffy head and lots and lots of carbonation. the glass stayed laced through out the course of the beer. haven't had any other in this series, but as for other wild ales i've had this was much different. upon the first sip i was not impressed at all, it took me a few to really get into it. after a couple sips i began to enjoy it much more. still nothing to great here but good enough to give it a try if you never had it.
Apr 13, 2010
Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Rat Rider) from De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 38 ratings