Cowbell
Firestone Walker Brewing Co.

 

At the source in Buellton on our way down to Rosarito Beach. Pours a color darker than your average berliner weisse. This is more of an amber/caramel color than the usual, lighter, yellow. Big notes of french oak, lemon and sour mash wheat coming off of this.

Taste, wow, good, but dam this is almost as sour as tartare (the most sour berliner I may have ever had, Frucht series is up there too). Really like the french oak contribution, I usually do in lighter side more session strength kind of beer. Sure its amped up acidity, but as long as it doesn't literally burn the shit outta my insides or make me take extra antacids, I really don't care too much about that, not super sensitive in that way. Real good drying effect.

Alright, so have they ever bottled this? They're always so damn expensive with their wild ale-ish offerings ($15/375ml = more than $1 per ounce), I would be hard pressed to make a purchase, but at the same time, its pretty good stuff. So who knows, perhaps, in the bottle, I would actually not want more cowbell. . .

 

 

 

 

 

Tons of bright acidity popping out of the glass, light wisps of funk and a bit of that trademark FW oak character, but mostly this is about lemon rind acidity, puckering, almost icy. Surprisingly little throat burn for a beer of this ilk. Apparently this is usually just a blending component for some of their other creations. You can definitely imagine how this adds pop to whatever it goes into. Cool stuff.

 

 

 

 

 

 

A: Funky, with a lemony, moderately sharp sourness.

A: Golden color, cloudy, with a fairly dense white head that has very solid retention.

T: Quite tart with a clean, lemony lacto sourness. There is a light funkiness and wood character.

M: Medium-light bodied with moderate carbonation. The beer is refreshing and effervescent.

O: A decidedly American take on a Berliner, hence the Americaner Vice moniker. The beer is usually a blending beer that is much tarter than a typical Berliner. It's funky foeder origin give the beer a great aroma and complexity. The beer is super tasty and very easy to drink.

 

 

 

 

Very pale body, with a tinge of maize. Aroma is mainly lactic acid, light lemon and a bit of underlying earthiness. Very tart! Bright acidity hits you up front and lingers through the finish. The most acidic FW beer I have tasted. A palate cleanser for sure.