Bière De Blanc Du Bois
Jester King Brewery

 

 

 

 

 

Poured out as a hazy yellow color with a thin white head on top. The smell has a bold funkiness to it with touches of citrus in the mix. The taste has a subtle white wine-like feel to it, nice tart finish as well. The feel is thin but well carbonated. Overall a very good beer.

 

 

500ml bottle (Blend 4) - chilled - poured into a white wine stem.

Pours a moderately hazed deep golden hue, emitting shades of orange, yellow, and the faintest green. Half a finger of loose white head builds in a vigorous pour, before immediately reducing to a loose bubbly collar. No visible effervescence.

Nose: Right from the start, it is clear that this beer has depth and nuance. Many lesser wilds and sours often exhibit one dominant note, obscuring everything else. This however, displays an entire bouquet of aroma, with subtlety and complexity. The nose reveals a sharpness that is neither exclusively citric, nor acetic in nature. Tucked beneath that, is a hint of some caramel grain. There is a rather forward white-green vinous element to it, lending notes of both fresh and fermented white wine grape, pear, green apple, melon rind, cucumber, unripe pineapple, and with some agitation, a hint of sauerkraut. Beyond the vinous theme, the nose displays a panoply of beautifully subtle aromas comprised primarily of notes of wet hay, fresh grass, petrichor, damp forest floor, spring meadow, wet stone, flint, and something I can only describe as a small creek running through a dense deciduous forest. There's a tick of mineralogy, as well as a touch of oaky vanillins. Quite beautiful and delicate, never becoming loud or violently acidic.

Palate: The beer opens up with a bold acidity - sour, yes, but not blindingly so. This initial sour zing brings with it all the green fruity elements from the nose, with a particular emphasis on white wine grape and tart green apple. The lightly toasted malt runs parallel beneath the tartness, lending some balance to it. All the rustic farmy notes of wet hay, grass, old dusty farmhouse, and a touch of funk. I get no extreme funk elements, and it seems it is entirely without any horseblanket, manure, sweat, or hyper-expressive yeast. The tartness now fades, allowing the beautiful lightly sweet grains to peek through from the back end. Some dusty brettanomyces shows up, but doesn't lend the often characteristic bitter note, nor do I find any real trace of heavy hopping. At this point, the big flavours have mostly vanished, and the palate is left with just a trace of just barely sweet malted barley, and a touch of oak - completing the finish with an almost Highland malt whisky note.

Mouthfeel/Body: The vibrant acidity and nearly bone-dry nature of the ale serves for a pretty light body. In spite of the still look, there is a wonderful ultra-fine champagne-like effervescence which furthers the light and airy body. There's some slightly sweet malt tucked in there which does come through in texture, bust mostly as a softness, rather than lending ant considerable weight. The acidity fades early, and results in a less tannic and tightly dry ending, though both elements remain intact to a degree.

Overall: This is a very nice wild ale, with a wonderfully integrated grape element. I think the key to this ale's success is its balance. The sourness and acidity are never overwhelming, yet remain a focal point, as they should. The delicate malt often gets overwhelmed in most sours, and that isn't the case here, which I greatly appreciate, as it adds a whole level to the experience. The flavours of plentiful and nuanced, allowing each other to all shine, and I think that's the hallmark of an expertly crafted wild ale.

Bottle, beautiful golden straw with off white foam. Tart, oaky, citrus and wine grape. Light earthy funk. Delicate moderate carbonation and soft moderate carbonation. Blend Two.

 

L: Golden ale.
S: Light beer/funk?
T: Very light and simple, refreshing beer.
F: Light and crisp
O: very light and workable simple beer.

 

 

 

Jester King Biere De Blanc Du Bois

Blend Five

September 2018

Look: The beer pours a slightly hazy, translucent golden amber color. Bone white head struggles to stick around after an aggressive pour. No head across the top of the beer and a thin ring of foam around the edge of the glass. Some visible carbonation streaming from the bottom. Zero lacing.

Smell: First impressions of the nose are Granny Smith apple, pear, white grape, apple cider, powdery, perfume, floral, some white vinegar and hint of lemon juice.

Taste: Flavor profile is very clean, crisp, and light. The beer is fruity and includes many of the notes found in the nose, including apple, pear and white grape. It has elements of cider and white wine. I do not find the beer acidic outside of the bright natural fruit acidity (as opposed to any bacteria driven acidity) and it really is not that sour for me. The finish has a light bitterness

Feel: The feel is semi-dry. Low carbonation and aqueous. Could be the oak woody feel as well.

Overall: I find this beer very drinkable and straightforward. White fruit forward. The only “funk” I get is the floral/powdery aroma. No funk or off flavors. Highly drinkable at 8.1% and no indication of the 8.1% ABV. It’s not complex, nor is it the most interesting beer I’ve had, but it’s well executed and really quite nice.