Hockhocking
Jackie O's Brewpub

Bottle with a label advertising tickets for the Nelsonville Music Festival in June 2017, opened and enjoyed in a snifter in July 2021.

L: Poured a crystal clear pale yellow, with no head to speak of aside from a rapidly vanishing fizz. Almost no bubbles present in the brew once the pour finished. No head whatsoever, not even a ring.

S: This was actually the first thing I noticed, as the funk leapt out of the bottle the moment the cap came away. It remained quite noticeable through the pouring process, with my nose far from the glass, all wet hay and horse blanket. Inhaling the nose up close, the funk is mitigated somewhat by tart sour fruit, though musty hay continues to pervade.

T: Wet, musty, mildewed hay indeed. Sour, going-off melon. Old barn. Moldy pear. The flavors come in flashes, and leave not much of an aftertaste behind. This may be a factor of this bottle's apparent age.

F: Light bodied, and oddly lively for the lack of bubbles.

O: This was likely a much more interesting beer closer to its bottling date. I will make it a point to revisit, should I come across a fresher batch.

Hockhocking from Jackie O’s Brewing. Received on 21/9/20 from Craftshack, San Diego, CA, for $ 22.49 (Including shipping) for 16.9 oz ($1.33/oz). Brown bottle stored at home at 42 degrees. Reviewed 20/6/21. Note that I use DD/MM/YY protocol.
Bottle dated “2017”. Served at 49.8 degrees in a hand washed and dried Jester King snifter. Final temperature 54.5 degrees.
Appearance – 3.
First pour - Begins nearly colorless and clear, with only the faintest yellow hue.
Body – Pale straw (SRM 2), clear. When rear-lite, same. A lot of sediment occurs in the bottom of the bottle (a 500 mL wine bottle), but this remains packed through the first pour.
Head – Tiny (Maximum 1.3 cm, aggressive center pour), off white and fizzy, low density, short retention, diminishing to leave only a 0.15 mm ring of bubbles.
Lacing – None.
Aroma – 4.25 – Weak grape and some acetic acid with a touch of Brettanomyces funk. No malt, no hops, no yeast.
Flavor – 4.25 – Begins slightly sour with acetic acid predominating. Some transitory grape flavors occur. No malt per se, no hops, no yeast. No ethanol (6.5% ABV, as marked on container) taste or aroma. Gastric warming does not occur. No dimethylsulfide or diacetyl. Ends with a bit of lactic acid.
Palate – 4 – Medium, watery, lively carbonation.
Final impression and summation: 4.25 Pretty good saison – not too funky and not too sour. A bit of the grape remains and both the acetic and lactic acids are well-balanced with the thicker body.

 

 

Mixed fermentation saison. Total curiosity pick. No idea what to expect.
Pours a straw gold, bright, with light foam. Lots of life left in the glass. Some funk, wet hay and horse blanket on the nose. It’s tart, with some floral funk on the palate, a bite of green apple, and a thin finish. I drank this about six months after purchase, but it dates back from a few years (There’s information about a festival in 2017 on the label, but no actual bottled date), so I wonder if I sat on it too long.

 

 

16.9oz bottle of the 2018 vintage, courtesy of ovaltine. Probably my first beer that was brewed to commemorate a music festival. The bands that were scheduled to attend are listed on the label, and it looks like it was a pretty good lineup.

Slightly chill-hazed golden color, with a sudsy white head of a couple finger's width. Said head dropped quickly but never entirely died away. Decent lace.

Viniferous nose. As it warms, some tart, citrusy aromas and a peppery spiciness emerges.

Flavor is of tart sourness, white wine, with a little bit of some bitter citrus and some peppery spiciness. Chamomile seems most prominent in the after taste, which was preceded by a dry finish.

Medium bodied, with a crisp, dry mouthfeel.

Really enjoyed this. My kind of a summer beer, even if it's from last spring! It really seems to have held up well. Thanks, Mike!

This beer pours a hazy sunshine color with a white head that dissipates quickly per the style. Tart fruity aromas of white wine and orange peel dominate the nose.

Those aromas translate well to the taste, and there’s a nice chamomile flavor, too. This is really well-executed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Had this at Sour Sunday at Triple Rock. Had to try it given that we've been going on tour with hocking tripel for around a decade I would guess. Pours a light amber color, maybe lighter, it was kind of dark in the party room. Has a real summery kind of vibe in the aroma, lemon, oak, grass, beach.

Taste, wow this is pretty good. Wasn't expecting that, you drink a few infected Jackie O's beers and you stop expecting much, but I guess this is intentionally infected so we should be all good. A little green apple creeps in with some hay, carbonation totally on point here. Not overly acidic, relatively easy to drink. Wait they say its a saison? Nah, this is a wild ale all the way. Some decent white wine green grape notes on the back end of the mouth feel. This is nice beer, would bang.

A solid ale halfway between a sour and a more traditional saison. Nice tartness to it that doesn't overwhelm the underlying flavors. Semi-dry with biscuit and green apple cohabitating in harmony.

 

Poured from a bottle dated 2017 into the test glass
A - Exceptional clarity, light straw color, aggressive carbonation feeds a two finger cap of pure white.
S - Lite toast oak, a bit of wine barrel, lemongrass, summer grains, and a hint of green grape skin
T - Delicate with, lemon zest, again the green grape skin, a kiss of funk
M - A bit prickly, the carbonation has everything moving, semi - tart start, then things balance out, culminating with a clean bright finish
O - A delightful in every aspect Saison/Wild worth seeking out