Feral One | Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
Brewed by:
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
California, United States
firestonewalker.com
Style: American Wild Ale
Alcohol by volume (ABV): 6.70%
Availability: Limited (brewed once)
Notes / Commercial Description:
Feral One is a blend of Sour Opal, SLOAmbic, Agrestic and Lil’ Mikkel, all aged for an extended period in American and French oak barrels. Only 500 cases of 375ml bottles were produced.
Added by dwagner003 on 02-19-2014
This beer is retired; no longer brewed.
Ratings: 375 | Reviews: 23
Reviews by Jordy777:
3.75/5 rDev -11.8%
Jordy777, Jun 11, 2014
More User Reviews:
4.52/5 rDev +6.4%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
375 ml bottle
Appearance is golden orange, lots of carbonation, minimal head, although some decent retention, minimal lacing
Smell is hay, funk, brettanomyces, apricot, nectarines, pears, oak, and other citrus
Taste is very fruity right off the bat, fades into an apricot dominated finish with a dry oak aftertaste, as it warms some light berries come through to mix in with the funk, nice sour quality
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, nice for a wild ale, maybe a little low on carbonation, although still very approachable
Overalll it is a great first effort out of Barrelworks, complex blend of beers, will probably get even better with some more aging
655 characters
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
375 ml bottle
Appearance is golden orange, lots of carbonation, minimal head, although some decent retention, minimal lacing
Smell is hay, funk, brettanomyces, apricot, nectarines, pears, oak, and other citrus
Taste is very fruity right off the bat, fades into an apricot dominated finish with a dry oak aftertaste, as it warms some light berries come through to mix in with the funk, nice sour quality
Mouthfeel is medium bodied, nice for a wild ale, maybe a little low on carbonation, although still very approachable
Overalll it is a great first effort out of Barrelworks, complex blend of beers, will probably get even better with some more aging
655 characters
4.25/5 rDev 0%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25
4.16/5 rDev -2.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.38/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
4.5/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: Peach.
S: Super lacto funk
T: Far less tart than the scent implies. Vinegar, oak, white wine that has been out in the sun for a day, grapes, and saison yeast.
M: Dry but with body.
O: Unique. Having sampled this at the release I wasn't overly impressed, However, it gets better after the first few sips. Shares some similar characteristics with the typical American sour ale but there is also a different kind of sour, a not-wholly-unpleasant rot sour, mixed in. The more I sip this, the more I enjoy it. Feral is an appropriate name. This one certainly is wild.
569 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
A: Peach.
S: Super lacto funk
T: Far less tart than the scent implies. Vinegar, oak, white wine that has been out in the sun for a day, grapes, and saison yeast.
M: Dry but with body.
O: Unique. Having sampled this at the release I wasn't overly impressed, However, it gets better after the first few sips. Shares some similar characteristics with the typical American sour ale but there is also a different kind of sour, a not-wholly-unpleasant rot sour, mixed in. The more I sip this, the more I enjoy it. Feral is an appropriate name. This one certainly is wild.
569 characters
4.5/5 rDev +5.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
4.32/5 rDev +1.6%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
375 mL bottle poured into a snifter.
Appearance - Clear golden orange body. Small white head. Medium collar.
Smell - Wow, it's impressive. Funky white pepper, lemon, sourdough malt. Light white wine. Oak.
Taste - Bright sourness. Grain malt. Sourdough malts again. Vanilla oakiness. Sourness builds into a lemony flavor with some light stone fruit flavors.
Mouthfeel - Nice sourness, maybe a little too much. Well carbonated.
Overall - This is really nice. A complex American sour, wow!
491 characters
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
375 mL bottle poured into a snifter.
Appearance - Clear golden orange body. Small white head. Medium collar.
Smell - Wow, it's impressive. Funky white pepper, lemon, sourdough malt. Light white wine. Oak.
Taste - Bright sourness. Grain malt. Sourdough malts again. Vanilla oakiness. Sourness builds into a lemony flavor with some light stone fruit flavors.
Mouthfeel - Nice sourness, maybe a little too much. Well carbonated.
Overall - This is really nice. A complex American sour, wow!
491 characters
4.54/5 rDev +6.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Another piece of evidence toward proving FW are absolute masters of barrel aging. As with Agrestic (which makes up 43% of this beer), the barrel notes are outstanding and rarely reproduced by other breweries out there. Oak, baking spices, almost a hint of smoke, plus no shortage of stone fruit. Excellent, excellent nose. At nearly a year old, the palate is quite sour, the carb quite aggressive, and I wish I would've had a shot at this one fresher. That said, it's still tasty as heck, similar notes to the nose, some tart apple thrown in there, obviously more exposure to that acidic bite. Love these non-fruited wild ales, where FW's wizardry with the barrels is able to play a more starring role. Excellent.
713 characters
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Another piece of evidence toward proving FW are absolute masters of barrel aging. As with Agrestic (which makes up 43% of this beer), the barrel notes are outstanding and rarely reproduced by other breweries out there. Oak, baking spices, almost a hint of smoke, plus no shortage of stone fruit. Excellent, excellent nose. At nearly a year old, the palate is quite sour, the carb quite aggressive, and I wish I would've had a shot at this one fresher. That said, it's still tasty as heck, similar notes to the nose, some tart apple thrown in there, obviously more exposure to that acidic bite. Love these non-fruited wild ales, where FW's wizardry with the barrels is able to play a more starring role. Excellent.
713 characters
4.55/5 rDev +7.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This beer has a great color and the nose is solid. It has only gotten better with age. Drank one recently in a vertical with Batch 2 and 3. It has rounded nicely, great mouthfeel and nice dry finish. The complexities are exceptional.
237 characters
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
This beer has a great color and the nose is solid. It has only gotten better with age. Drank one recently in a vertical with Batch 2 and 3. It has rounded nicely, great mouthfeel and nice dry finish. The complexities are exceptional.
237 characters
4.38/5 rDev +3.1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
Feral One from Firestone Walker Brewing Co.
4.25
out of 5
based on 375 ratings.