Wild Ale #6 (Bordeaux Series)
Santa Fe Brewing Company

Wild Ale #6 (Bordeaux Series)Wild Ale #6 (Bordeaux Series)
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From:
Santa Fe Brewing Company
 
New Mexico, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
ABV:
5%
Score:
86
Avg:
3.8 | pDev: 14.74%
Reviews:
29
Ratings:
31
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Dec 28, 2012
Added:
Oct 24, 2010
Wants:
  20
Gots:
  2
Sour ale aged in Bordeaux barrels.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by jrallen34:
Photo of jrallen34
Reviewed by jrallen34 from Illinois

4.09/5  rDev +7.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3
Bottle provided by Alex...Pours a light colored brown very similar to cider, low carbonation...The aroma is pretty tart, acidic, a lot of vinegar (super charged Rodenbach), some sweet cherries try to balance it, need some more....The taste is extreme tartness. I love super sours and never thought I'd come across one this pungent. Exterem vinegar, acid, a true pucker reaction. Lightly sweet...The feel is dry and wine like...You need several people to drink a bottle of this.

This is the most tart beer I've had. Its worth trying for sure but be prepared.
Nov 18, 2010
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 3.25 by t0rin0 from California

Dec 28, 2012
Photo of craytonic
Reviewed by craytonic from District of Columbia

3.08/5  rDev -18.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3
Took this one to a tasting with some solid BAs

Appearance: Dark amber pour, decent white head with a touch of brown

Smell: Lots of vinegar with some dark fruits, very acetic. Heavy oak

Taste: Vinegar and sour dominate, followed by oak and dark fruits. Not quite as sour as Old Growth, but still too sour.

Mouthfeel: Medium body, decent carbonation, dry

Overall: Way too sour, we don't need extreme sour beers.
Nov 27, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Exiled from Texas

Nov 24, 2011
Photo of drabmuh
Reviewed by drabmuh from Maryland

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Shared by either Matt or Michael at a recent tasting, thanks! Beer is quite good, really nice, I need to hunt down these other sours and see what they are doing down there. Very interesting beers, this is the best I've had.

Beer is brownish, mildly hazy, low head, low retention, moderate to low carbonation, no lacing.

Aroma is succinic and acetic. Really strong, mild wine.

Beer is tart more than straight up sour, I get it in the back corners of my mouth, thin, bright on the palate, mild to moderate acetic character. The beer is mildly oaky with hints of fruits. It is quite good, very interesting, I would have it again and this beer convinces me that Sante Fe is worthwhile and I'll keep paying attention.
Nov 14, 2011
Photo of Huhzubendah
Reviewed by Huhzubendah from District of Columbia

3.89/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Bottle shared by yourefragile. Thanks Michael.

The beer is brown colored, appearing virtually flat. What little head there is rapidly vanishes, leaving no trace of its existence on the glass. The aroma is super sour and acetic. Whoa! I guess I am sadistic when it comes to sours and wilds. The flavor punishes your cheeks. Ripe fruit, tannins, oak. Not for the faint hearted. Light to medium bodied with very low carbonation. Overall, an interesting beer and certainly worth a try if you consider yourself a sourhead.
Nov 11, 2011
Photo of mdfb79
Reviewed by mdfb79 from New York

3.53/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From 11/05/11 notes.

a - Pours a dark reddish brown color with one finger of off white head and moderate carbonation evident. Some light lacing left on the glass.

s - Smells super sour, like cleaning solvent, acidic notes, sour fruits. Very sour and funky, and some light oak and earthy notes.

t - Tastes of mouth puckering sour fruits, oak, earthy and funky notes, vinegar, and raspberries. Super sour again, but not bad.

m - Medium body and moderate carbonation. After Old Growth, much easier to drink.

o - Overall another interesting, and crazy sour beer, but a TON better than Old Growth. Would give this one another shot though it isn't my favorite, whereas I think I'd pass on OG next time.
Nov 08, 2011
Photo of AgentZero
Reviewed by AgentZero from Illinois

4/5  rDev +5.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Supposed to be sour. Thank goodness I had a nice buzz going when Alex shared this one.

A - Amber colored beer with a bit of head and some decent lacing.

S - Well, smells really tart, some vinegar, oak, sweetness. Lots of acetic sourness here, almost shockingly so.

T - This is like, enamel stripping sour. Super, super tart with some red wine nd vinous notes. There's some dark fruit. Also some apples, but man, really really sour. But I'm drunk.

M - Medium bodied beer with moderate carbonation and mouth drying astringency.

O - It's an experience, one of the sourest beers I've encoutered. Worth drinking with friends just to see the look on everyone's faces.
Jul 12, 2011
Photo of Deuane
Reviewed by Deuane from Pennsylvania

3.77/5  rDev -0.8%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to Hojaminbag for sharing this one. I had been hoping to track one down!

A-Deep, dark ruby tinted copper with a medium off-white head that reduced to a thin veil and left zero lacing.

S-Highly acidic with a boat load of Balsamic vinegar up front slowly melting away to notes of sour cherries and astringent oak.

T-WHOA! This one is a big old Balsamic vinegar kick in the teeth! A massively sour brew up front. With a bit of searching subtle notes of sour cherry, raspberry and blackberry poke through. Tannic oak notes shine in the drying and astringent finish.

M-Medium-light bodied with a lively bite of carbonation. Oak and vinegar astringency linger long. Super tart and biting.

D-Wow! This is one sour mo fo! I like it but in the end it does become a bit too much. Tart--sure, tasty---sure, for awhile but in the end....
Jun 13, 2011
Photo of Dreadnaught33
Reviewed by Dreadnaught33 from District of Columbia

3.95/5  rDev +3.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
Yet another bottle thanks to Drew!

A: Ruby red to dark, dark crimson with golden highlights. No head to speak of or lacing. Intriguing look.

S: Has a grape and berry fruit vibe overall in terms of the flavor of the tartness, also with some bread like grain. Vinegar dominates again like the other wilds, maybe apple cider vinegar this time. Red wine grapes as well like a super tart Cab.

T: Abrasive tartness with lots of vinegar again and red wine flavors that really blossom forth with some citrus zest. Raisin and prune in there, but mostly very tart again.

M: Abrasively tart with no carbonation, like a tart wine.

Overall this is interesting, this and 4 are the better ones, yet they are all so abrasively sour it's hard to drink much of these after a while.
Jun 12, 2011
Photo of orangesol
Reviewed by orangesol from Pennsylvania

4.07/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Big thanks to Ben aka Hojaminbag for sharing this one with Deuane and myself. Bottle poured into a taster glass.

A - Pours murky brown with a fizzy, active, one finger tall white head leaving very light lacing down the glass.

S - Smells of dank funk, strong tartness, and some light wood from the barrels. This one, while still very high on the acidity, was not too overpowering. Pretty good.

T - Very tart pucker up front slowly giving way to a mix of dry must and vinegar. This one has quite a few similarities to a good red wine. Very dry with a light wood / barrel character throughout. The finish is a mix of tart sourness and dryness. This is not your everyday wild but it was a still very nice.

M - Medium body and flavor with moderate carbonation. Very tart, both in the feel and the finish, lingering for some time on the pallet.

O - This one was very nice. This is not the sourest beer I have ever had but it still packs a pretty good punch of pucker. I am glad I finally got to try one of the wilds from Santa Fe. Thanks again Ben!
May 09, 2011
Photo of kevinv
Reviewed by kevinv from Texas

4.17/5  rDev +9.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Reviewed from notes from a couple of months ago. This bottle was graciously provided by D13Logan.

A - Pours a murky reddish-hued mahogany. It looks like a glass of red wine from across the room. Very still and flat. Only the slightest hiss came from the bottle after popping the cap. I think I might have seen a few bubbles as I poured, but no more. Seems like there's some disparity among the reviews regarding carbonation. No visible lacing.

S - SOUR. The nose is largely acidic and heavy on the vinegar. Light undertones of cherries, sour apples, and an oakiness, but they are definitely in the background. The sourness becomes more intense as the beer warms.

T - Yeah, this one's really sour. Fighting through the vinegar is a beautiful combination of ripe cherries, berries, and apples. With as sour as this beer is, it's safe to say that it's taking me awhile to get through my glass. As the beer warms, the acidity seems to increase exponentially. After each mouth puckering sip, my tongue and mouth just continue to salivate.

M - Medium body, zero carbonation, but the flatness works. Very smooth body. I want to say that there's a wine-like dryness on the finish, but like I already said, my mouth just salivates and quickly negates any dryness. Extremely sour.

D - When given this bottle, I was warned about how sour it is. Man, no kidding. This is the most sour beer that I've had, but it was extremely enjoyable and one that I'd drink over and over. Definitely recommended.

Disclaimer: I think this one really tore my stomach up and I attribute the horrible craps I had the following morning to this beer. Even given that experience, my score remains unaltered.
May 07, 2011
Photo of Hojaminbag
Reviewed by Hojaminbag from Colorado

4.1/5  rDev +7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
I got this beer in Secret Santa 2010 from GabrielM. Out of all the great beers Gabe sent me, I wanted to try this one the most.. Thanks Gabe.

Wild Ale #6 has a hazy, reddish orange body. The head is an off-white color and it is big and billowy. It leaves some nice lacing behind and has decent retention.

The aroma reveals a good bit of acidic tartness, with notes of both lemon and vinegar. Hints of barrel characteristics also surface.

A little bit of sourness surfaces right away, with a light, lemon-like bite to it. Next comes a little bit of wood and a distinctly dry character that reminds of red wine. In fact, it might actually be a note of bordeaux that I taste, as the vinous character becomes a little more persistent and red-grape flavored as I sip. Only tiny hints of candied sugar sweetness come from the malt, and they are buried in the background. The finish is powerfully sour, with the wine barrel making the sourness taste a good bit like balsamic vinegar. The balsamic flavor is more powerful in this beer than in any other beer that I have tried, but the sourness still overshadows it a little bit.

The body is medium to light, and the finish is slightly puckering.

Wild Ale #6 is definitely more sour than the majority of American Wild Ales out there, but not in an overwhelming way. With that said, the sour flavors are the main attraction here, with the wine and balsamic notes rounding things out nicely. The ABV is also fairly low for such a bold Wild Ale, which is nice. I like this one quite a bit and I would love to try the others in the series.
May 02, 2011
Photo of Mora2000
Reviewed by Mora2000 from Texas

4.3/5  rDev +13.2%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
Thanks to bu11zeye for sharing this bottle.

The beer pours an orange-amber color with a white head. The aroma is very tart. I get a lot of lemons and vinegar notes. I also may get a little bit of cherry, but the tart acedic notes are what stands out.

The flavor is extremely sour. I get some lemons, apples and vinegar. The beer is very, very dry and makes your cheeks pucker to an extreme degree. I get a lot of vinegar in the flavor as well. One of the most sour beers I have ever drank.

Medium mouthfeel and medium carbonation.
Apr 29, 2011
Photo of BearsOnAcid
Reviewed by BearsOnAcid from Massachusetts

3.58/5  rDev -5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Burgundy color, big white head that fell to the sides of the glass.

Heavy acetic acid in the nose. Burning hot. Raspberry, cherry, vanilla yogurt wafts in behind it.

Human bile and sweet vanilla comes out first in the taste. I'm searching for anything but vinegar and I can pick out just a little of the bordeaux on the finish. The finish is surprisingly smooth and dry. The beer lifts effortlessly off the palate. Seedy/dirty raspberries round out the taste. This was probably the first vinegar bomb that actually pulled off being a vinegar bomb. Having said that, this is definitely a sour for the masochist inside you.
Apr 22, 2011
Photo of Urbancaver
Reviewed by Urbancaver from Ohio

3.55/5  rDev -6.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2
Pours a murky reddish orange. a bit of white head. Looks pretty. Smells sweet. A lot of fruitiness Up front. Vry very tart on the tongue. The sourness is over the top making it sper not drinkable. The tartness and fruitiness is great. The sourness is so very very overpowering that this beer suffers sadly. But i do like the taste
Mar 12, 2011
Photo of beachbum1975
Reviewed by beachbum1975 from Ohio

2.83/5  rDev -25.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 2.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 2.5
Poured similar color to the #3. Shared with many folks at urbancaver's place. Thanks to Cottzilla for sharing!

I definitely get the vine in the nose. Oak, cherry, band aids with a light sour astringency.

Very sour. Mildly diluted version of Old Growth. Quite sour and burns my throat. It's very warming in my throat.

This is a big and sour beer. I can feel the hair growing on my teeth (that is, if it didn't remove the enamel on my teeth)!

Sour, sour, sour!
Mar 12, 2011
Photo of mwa423
Reviewed by mwa423 from Ohio

4.7/5  rDev +23.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
A - Pours a clear dark amber with a nice head and lacing.

S - Lots of funk, yeast and an alcoholic bite with fruity wine notes and also a grain note like a fine bourbon would have.

T - The taste is a great example of a sour with lots of sour flavor that puckers the tongue. There is a cherry and grape note mixed with nail polish and horse blanket. Every sip is a punch to the tongue, as was mentioned "it hurts so good"

M/D - Mouthfeel is harsh and great on the tongue. There is a very dry and tingly finish. Great drinkable sour with great carbonation and flavor.
Mar 12, 2011
Photo of brew3crew
Reviewed by brew3crew from Ohio

3.97/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A-transparent amber with almost no head
S-nice okay smell. Can definetly pick the bordeaux off of it
T-tastes a lot of the wine off of the start. Very funky tartness to it with a combination of a little bit of fruit
M-medium bodied and a slifht burn going down
D-nicely drinkable. Not the best though
Mar 12, 2011
Photo of Gueuzedude
Reviewed by Gueuzedude from Arizona

3.12/5  rDev -17.9%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3
Pours dead flat into my Lost Abbey Teku glass. The beer is a dark, concentrated amber color that shows a clear, slightly purple tinged, amber hue when held up to the light. The aroma smells like strawberries due to an interaction between acetic acid and the fruit esters in the beer. The nose actually has quite a bit of acetic acid character to it. There is an underlying, bright berry like aromatic to this beer. If you really dig deep the nose yields a sort of oxidized prune like note, this transforms into a phenolic / plastic like note as my nose gets used to the aroma. There is an at times subtle, though at times fairly noticeable, dusty oak woodiness to the nose that also has some spiciness to it. I feel like there is a lot of wine-influenced complexity to the nose, but that the too dominant acetic acid character obfuscates this complexity to a mere suggestion.

Very, very sour and acidic, my first sip has me reeling from the acidity, though subsequent sips has this mellowing somewhat. The flavor is dominated by the acetic acidity, but there also seems to be some mellower lactic acid on top of this. This has enough acetic acid to it that it burns my esophagus just a bit. The beer finishes mouth puckeringly dry, not too mention the puckering acidity, and also has a tannic, oak astringency to it. The oak also contributes a soft woodiness and perhaps a hint of oak-spiciness (though it is really hard to pinpoint this last one underneath the spiciness from the acetic acid). This is definitely quite still as I don't even get a hint of carbonation in the texture. The texture has some viscousness to it and actually this has quite a bit of body to it as it lingers on the palate. A soft fruitiness is found underneath the acetic character and contributes flavors of strawberries and a subtle, red-wine influenced berry character. The fruitiness and the acetic acid character seems to suggest at a sweetness that is not actually in this beer, though the finish always remains bone dry.

This beer is definitely overly acetic and sour (and this is coming from someone that really enjoys hard, sour beers). It is not quite one dimensional, but it is approaching that point, and I really get the feeling that the acetic acid is overpowering and hiding the wine-barrel influence and complexity that this beer should / could have. Santa Fe has always had at least a fair amount of acetic acid character in their beers but it seems to be getting more aggressive with time (despite this being a completely different barrel); I would love to see them get a clean, bracing lactic acidity in there beers and abandon the acetic all together. The fact that the carbonation is absent from this beer also has quite a bit of a negative impact on my perception of this beer.
Dec 28, 2010
Wild Ale #6 (Bordeaux Series) from Santa Fe Brewing Company
Beer rating: 86 out of 100 with 31 ratings