The Wanderer
The Bruery

The WandererThe Wanderer
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From:
The Bruery
 
California, United States
Style:
Wild Ale
Ranked #63
ABV:
8%
Score:
97
Ranked #747
Avg:
4.36 | pDev: 8.26%
Reviews:
142
Ratings:
973
Status:
Active
Rated:
Jan 23, 2024
Added:
May 04, 2011
Wants:
  452
Gots:
  238
The Wanderer is a special blend of oak aged ales that we made with Craig and Beth from San Francisco's City Beer Store. Blending a mix of sour ales and our anniversary ale the base of this beer has a delightfully sour tinge on top of a hearty malt backbone. To add to the flavor, Craig and Beth selected blackberries and bing cherries to be added to the ale adding to it's already fruity complexity. This ale went on to win the silver medal for wood & barrel aged sour fruited ales at the 2011 Great American Beer Festival.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by StonedTrippin:
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Reviewed by StonedTrippin from Colorado

4.16/5  rDev -4.6%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
this beer inspired a conversation on the relative merits between perfectly simple and perfectly complex. this beer falls somewhere in the middle of simple and complex, but its perfection is hard to debate. another special one from the bruery and their collaborators. it pours a hazy red pink, minimally heady, and lighter in looks than most burgundy type sours, which is where i kind of have to classify this one based on its smell and taste. the nose is fruit forward, love the blend, kriek and framboise are one fruit beers, this is more dynamic than that, and its immediately evident. tart and sweet, a little lactic lemon in there, but smooth too. the fruit is mixed through the whole taste, and the souring bits come late and soft. i like the feel a ton, not being as heavy in body or acid as beers like flanders reds and burgundy sours such as origins from crooked stave or the dissident from deschutes, although i put its fruit profile in line with those beers, and its bacterial presence in the same neighborhood as well. this is more gentle, more drinkable, dialed. its alcohol cannot be tasted, and its acid does not scar the tongue. carbonated beautifully, and only sweet as it needs to be. this is top quality beer, short of sour, but fully tart, a real gem. an exercise in delicacy and nuance, i am impressed. thanks to drlovemd87, who has made way too many world class beers available to me!
Dec 30, 2013
More User Ratings:
Photo of rand
Reviewed by rand from California

4.43/5  rDev +1.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
750 mL bottle into a tulip

2013 vintage

Mahogany in color, a moderate pour forms a wispy head that quickly dissipates.

Aromas are full of lemon and unripe fruit and oak.

A lot more pit fruit on the palate, and packs a puckering punch. Very oaky, and I’d imagine the extended cellaring has only tamed some of the more aggressive aspects. I faintly remember having this at a bottle share or their tasting room years ago, and it was right on the cusp of being hard to swallow (sour beer face).

Really tasty brew…vintage Bruery wild ale that’s held up perfectly well in my cellar for 10+ years.
Jan 23, 2024
 
Rated: 4.25 by Patches826 from Massachusetts

Sep 04, 2023
Photo of zac16125
Reviewed by zac16125 from South Carolina

4.51/5  rDev +3.4%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
2017 Vintage
750mL bottle into a Teku


Pours opaque, and a color somewhere between ruby and mahogany. Large tan head dissipates at a moderate rate. Aroma just has a ton going on. Burnt plastic like funk, dark fruits, caramel, subtle pungent cheese, semi-sweet varietal red wine. Taste is fairly unique. Quite tart, actually quite sour although not puckering. A very nice spectrum of dark fruits, with cherry, blackberry, some vinous notes. Subtle caramel. A bit of oak, subtle bitterness to balance. Only the faintest pungent characters which for me is a plus. I don’t really get any bourbon chanters but that’s not a big deal, there’s certainly enough going on. Flavor profile is really quite exceptional. Mouthfeel is medium bodied with a nice carbonation and drying on the finish. It’s got the mouthfeel of a great traditional Belgium sour, with a higher ABV than many of its sour counterparts yet that ABV is completely unnoticeable when drinking it. This one is dangerously drinkable. Overall, I am very impressed with this. Didn’t have particularly high expectations but man, this is really quite excellent.

4/4.25/4.75/4.5/4.5
Jun 04, 2021
 
Rated: 4.23 by Chuckdiesel24 from Illinois

Nov 23, 2020
 
Rated: 4.21 by smithj4 from New York

Jul 28, 2020
 
Rated: 4.04 by DudeBeerYaBro from California

Jun 17, 2020
Photo of pathman
Rated by pathman from Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +3.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
05/04/20 bottle @ home (2017 edition)
May 04, 2020
 
Rated: 3.98 by Mikexw from New York

Apr 07, 2020
Photo of kookajamo
Reviewed by kookajamo from Delaware

4.48/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Poured into a wide mouthed Muffin Top pint glass

L: Pours a dark reddish brown and is very pleasing to look at. In bright light the red tones become more pronounced. Small head but I poured carefully per instructions on the bottle. Small retention and not much lacing.

S: Funky acidic notes hit the nose immediately but are subdued and overtaken by the rich fruity notes of cherries and blackberries. The fruity notes dominate but in the best way possible.

T: Initial flavor is heavily acidic but still very palatable. Fruit flavors closely follow and both the cherry and blackberry are distinct and noticeable. The addition of the brown ale rounds out the flavor profile with some pronounced malt flavor which does not overpower the fruit but tempers the initial acidity well. The taste finishes dry and the woody oak flavors come out towards the end of the sip and linger slightly. Alcohol is completely unnoticeable despite the high ABV, thanks to the oak aging.

F: Medium bodied and silky but not sticky with a dry finish.

O: Easily one of the best sour/wild ales I've sampled. Everything is on point here and if I had more experience with this style I would not hesitate to rate this a 4.75 or 5. Once I've sampled more beer of this style I will gladly return to this review and increase the rating accordingly if it can still maintain a top spot.
Mar 29, 2020
Photo of HattedClassic
Reviewed by HattedClassic from Virginia

4.11/5  rDev -5.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
The beer pours a nice and foamy tan head that does not really dissipate but leaves a really nice head on the beer's surface. The beer itself is a clear reddish brown color that looks pretty nice.

The smell is good. It has a light vinegar smell that mixes with a sweet cherry note and tart black berry note. The berry notes dominate the smell for the better.

The taste is good. It has a light vinegar note with sweet cherries through it all and the blackberries finally come out in the finish.

The beer has a medium body to it and a bit of a thickness too. The acidity is tolerable.

Overall, a pretty good beer and worth having.
Mar 20, 2020
 
Rated: 4.33 by warrendietrich2001 from Nevada

Oct 04, 2019
 
Rated: 4.3 by BarryMFBurton from Indiana

Jul 05, 2019
 
Rated: 4.5 by teamwiggum from Wisconsin

Jun 04, 2019
Photo of snaotheus
Reviewed by snaotheus from Washington

4.05/5  rDev -7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
2019-05-10
375ml bottle served in a little sampler glass. 2017 bottle.

Pours a slightly cloudy ruby with a medium sized head that lasts for a long time and looks extremely creamy. Moderate very fine carbonation. Smell is tart cherry and wood.

Taste is more funk and wood, moderate cherry, and tart.

Mouthfeel is thick and velvety. Overall, nice beer.
May 11, 2019
 
Rated: 4.37 by robebo44 from Virginia

Apr 07, 2019
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Reviewed by kemoarps from New York

4.22/5  rDev -3.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Body is a ruby copper but not clear or crisp. Good size alder coloured head that settles down before long and seems content in an even dusting across the top.

Nose is sharp wood from the get go. Smells like green sap and wood, like splitting firewood in my parents yard. Some cherry meekly tries to get a word in edgewise, but to minimal avail.

Flavour is tart/sour to start and the second wave reinforces this and starts to pucker a touch. Rich earthy cherry skin comes in and lends some of the spice/earth that I associate with cherries' presence in beer. I can get a bit of the blackberry bramble as well and that lends to this brew growing on me. Wood is present but doesn't dominate like the nose. Wine barrels are more prevalent than the bourbon barrels (makes sense based on the split), and really I'm not sure how much of the bourbon comes through at all. There's a decent amount going on here, but it all comes together really nicely.
Sharp carbonation and the sour character gives that lip numbing enamel wrecking sensation.

I would say this is sour first, the blackberries are more prevalent than the cherries, and the wood runs through everything.

Much appreciation to @2beerdogs for sending me home with this after I got to spend an evening drinking with him while I was in California. Thanks Derek!
Mar 24, 2019
Photo of Franziskaner
Reviewed by Franziskaner from Missouri

4.35/5  rDev -0.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
Amber hued with a quarter inch of brown on top. The aroma is an amazing blend of merlot, cherries, oak, blackberries, and bourbon. I'm tasting merlot, cherries, blackberries, oak, and then a moderate dose of bourbon. Then in the finish I'm getting more oak, funk, and fruit. The mouth is dry, crisp, moderately carbonated and yet smooth, likely from the oak. There's a lot going on here and it's not for the faint of palate.
Mar 17, 2019
Photo of MonDak_Joe1953
Reviewed by MonDak_Joe1953 from Minnesota

4.4/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
750ml bottle, bottled in 2017. Label has ABV% as 8.3%. Label does not mention collaboration with City Beer Store.
Cloudy, medium amber colored body with a tint of red berry. Slight off white head upon pouring, which stays around as a small island and bubble fed ring. No lacing.
Very aromatic upon opening. Aroma is quite acidic, with dark berry (blackberry and cherry), and oak barrel. The bourbon comes across as more of an earthy note.
Taste is definitely sour. This has a blend of acidic wine notes and bourbon oak barrel, which is well done. Lots of dark berry flavor also. Cherry lingers more in the after taste. Somewhat dry but also quite mellow.
Medium plus mouth feel. Good carbonation.
A very well done blend of older ales where some is from wine barrels and some from bourbon barrels. Sour but has a bourbon note that is complementary. Easy to sip, and very smooth.
Mar 02, 2019
 
Rated: 4 by mishi_d from Romania

Feb 06, 2019
The Wanderer from The Bruery
Beer rating: 97 out of 100 with 973 ratings