Foudreweizen
Jester King Brewery

 

Pour is crystal clear. Moderate Cham white head.
Nose is wheat, straw, lemon
Taste follows. Wheat, lemony tartness, brett funk, straw. A bit of ok / white wine starts to come through as the beer warms.
Great beer. Wish more of the hefe flavors shown through; they may have when the beer was fresh.

collaboration with live oak, at least the second beer i am aware of that they have done by fermenting live oak wort with their own house culture. this one is awesome, 2018 bottle, batch 4, impressively solid over time it appears, not sure how tart it was fresh, but its pleasingly tangy now, really flatters all the wheat at the core of this, and while it tastes nothing like a hefeweizen, its a really neat beer, rich with earthy grain, hearty minerals, and wild funk. i believe the live oak strain is in here too, but it seems overrun now for the most part, still a light spice ester, but this is way more jester king funk than any more traditional hefeweizen, thats for sure. the oak is cool in here too, some deeper earthy tones to it, makes citrus pop too, lemon to me, a little vanilla in the mix as well, white wine maybe too, lots happening in the subtle but nuanced wood profile. a little deeper in color than the live oak hefe is by itself, more brassy and rich looking, decent little airy head from the bottle and awesome bottle conditioning of course, always true with jester king. the tartness is lemony too, acidity is middle of the road, and there are layers of lemongrass and tagerine and cut flowers here, slightly more acidic at this age than others from them, a little bitterness late too which is cool, adds to the herbal character overall. not super woody but it doesnt need to be, lots of body here too from all the wheat, maybe even a raw wheat component still evident. not sure how they make this, but in the future it seems like they could let the hefe yeast run a little by itself before introducing the jester king stuff, let it establish itself a little more. its also quite possible there is a lot more of that when this beer is fresh and its the age not the process that makes it more jester king than live oak. either way, delicious and drinkable and a crowd favorite from our epic jester king tasting! great approach to a collaboration too!

 

Hazy pale orange with a khaki blanket that quickly fizzles out to nothing.

This is a unique, enjoyably refreshing blend of saison and hefe, with mild notes of banana esters and cracked wheat intermingling with the classic, wonderful mixed culture character of Jester King, bringing farmhouse hay and lemon zest within the effervescent medium but round body settling to a tingly, cleanly semi-dry to dry finish.

 

 

I drank Foudreweizen batch #5, part Saison part Hefeweizen, an interesting and delicious beer. My daughter loved it too.

Look: hazy yellow with a finger thick white head

Aroma: wheat, yeast, citrus, pear or banana

Taste: The flavor is wheat, a little bit of yeast, pear, and a significant amount of lemon.

Body/Overall: light to medium, thirst quenching, easy drinking

 

 

 

 

Pours pale hazy yellow but more clarity then in hefe and the head fades all too fast. Im tore since I find my self looking for more the hefe notes and in the smell you do not get the banana or clove notes but more light lemon and bright brett funk. Taste follows with a nice snap of tart and a crisp bite to it. Overall a good beer but whish a little more of the base hefe was able to show through to really make this stand out.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a slightly foggy orange with a finger of white fizzy-head that dissipates quickly. Aroma is lemon and orange zest, oak, lemongrass, and peach. Aroma comes off a touch sour, preparing the palate for a sip. Flavor profile is peach, lemon zest, oak, and biscuity, bready malts at the back. There is a light sourness to it, just enough to lightly tension the jaw, but not pucker the face. Mouth feel is smooth, and when combined with the light touch of carbonation gives it a crisp feel. It has a medium-thin consistency. Overall, its splendid smoothness, mixed with a light sour twinge makes this a lovely sipper even with the lower ABV. It's a pleasant, but not drastic, twist on standard wheat and foudre beers.

Served in a 12oz snifter from a 750mL bottle.

 

bottle at Stephens

 

 

 

 

This one pours a slightly hazy yellowish-orange, with a very small head, and no lacing.

This smells like wheat, lemon, clove, and peach.

This has a very soft flavor, with light creamy wheat flavors, a bit of tart lemon, some pear, stone fruit, and orange peel. I expected this to be way funkier, but it's definitely a light funk. You can definitely tell it's a lightly funked up Live Oak Hefeweizen, and that's pretty cool.

This is light bodied, and fairly lightly carbonated- if the carb was higher this would be even better.

This is really fun concept and collaboration, and it's very tasty.

 

750ml bottle, batch #3 dated 10/25/2016, served into a willi becher glass. Pours a clear light orange body, one finger white head, good retention, no lacing. Smell is moderate acetic acid, oak, vinous character, leather, lemon, touch of clove, stone fruit. Super complex, wow. I expected this one to have more of the banana/iso, but nope. This has turned into a full-fledged wild ale, which is pretty cool to see. Flavour is a crisp lemon, stone fruit, moderate acetic acid, oak, touch of white vinous character, touch of grain, a bit of earthy wheat. There's a lot going on, and it's nice and soured up. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, good carbonation, crisp and even a bit mouthpuckering. Wonderful wild ale that has really transformed one of my favourite hefeweizens into a whole other wild beer, for sure.

 

White grape, peach, vinous, light sweetness, balanced sour, light funk, lemon

 

 

Batch #3

Appearance: Pours a hazy goldenstraw with a modest head (despite a hard pour) streaks of lacing line the way down, though the retention is not great

Smell: Very funky, with lemon, hay and chalk tones; the banana starts to come through a bit after it warms

Taste: Lactic, from the outset, with tart lemon, hay and chalk tones building; moderate funk, after the swallow, with a vague pear character emerging; acetic finish; even as it warms, it is hard to find the banana

Mouthfeel: Medium body with low to moderate carbonation; puckery

Overall: I was really expecting more of the hefe character to come through in this beer; drinks more like a geuze; good, but I wonder what it would have been like before the wild yeast overwhelmed the hefe yeast

Thanks, Texasfan549, for the opportunity

 

Poured from a 25oz bottle into a tulip glass (batch #2, bottled 5/26/17 and consumed 6/24/2017). Appearance is a somewhat hazy yellow/brown with 1/2 finger thick head, little retention. Smell is tart lemon, wheat, barnyard funk, banana, and spice (not a lot of clove though). Taste follows the nose with more tartness than expected and less funk. Banana, lemon, and wheat flavors are prevalent. Sweetness and bitterness are fairly low. Mouthfeel is medium bodied and effervescent with a nice crisp finish.

Overall this is an excellent Farmhouse Ale in which the Live Oak Hefeweizen base gives a unique twist on typical Jester King beers. It is more tart than expected developing nicely with Jester King's yeast. This beer is extremely drinkable on a summer day yet has good complexity. I recommend drinking it fresh as it has just the right balance at release.

 

 

750ml bottle poured into a tulip
Batch 1

A- pours a clear bright golden color with a one-finger foamy white head that eventually reduces to leave just a ring around the edge

S- earthy and yeasty barnyard funk up front with notes of dried hay & horse blanket. There are some fruity elements of pear & juicy peach. Lemon peel and lacto tartness close it out

T- plenty of tartness up front followed by some fruity notes of apricot, pear and ripe melon. Mid-palate gives some earthy barnyard notes of drier hay and must. The finish is dry and slightly malty with a linger of lemon peel and lacto

M- medium body with low carbonation leads to a slightly foamy mouthfeel and finish

O- plenty of tartness with some nice fruity notes, but drops off a bit on the finish. Very tasty, but I actually prefer regular Live Oak Hefe