El Regalo de Comal
Jester King Brewery

 

this has to rank among the all time greatest jester king beers, one of my most anticipated from the whole jester king day we had, and it somehow managed to exceed sky high expectations, this is epic beer right here, worth the wait and the price. coolship was brought to the vineyard, and this is a blend of one, three, and four year old vintages inoculated there, wow. vibrant orange rusty color to it, a little deeper shade than expected, which has been true of a few of the spon beers, less pale more glowing, bubbly and lively from the bottle with a short and very delicate white lace head. it smells prehistoric and super wild, stronger to me than the spinning away we had right before it, also vineyard inoculated. the ferment is crazy, really intense without being overly sour, its obvious there is some real mature beer in this blend, holy cow, its lambic-esque for sure, that iodine and mineral thing, the medicinal funk, the lemony bacterial aspect, but there is all kinds of aromatic nuance, pear and even tangerine, cut flowers, fresh hay, its incredible, woody too, new lumber and old wine barrels, amazing. i love the malt depth in the flavor, seems more than just pale barley and white wheat, a little richer and fuller, slightly nutty, a hint of honey, similar to others in this series but more complex somehow here it seems, even a light mid palate spiciness in the taste. huge brett all through this, sturdy wood too, plenty of white wine character, but i also get everything from golden raisin to white peach to red apple, and it keeps changing as it warms. definite medicinal weirdness on the ferment which i love, green glass character too which is always flattering in lambic types, and i think overall quite a bit more nuanced, mature, and even unpredictable than a lot of the other spon beers, whatever is ambient out at this winery seems amazing, makes me want to track down some of their vino! quite dry, expressive on the palate, short of champagne carbonation but real bright, yet also substantial to drink on, hearty and even healthful. cannot say enough about this one, epic ferment, really mature beer in the blend stands out, and the overall execution here is as good as it gets.

Clear dark amber with a short but level off-white head slowly fizzling out to a fine sparse film and short bubbly collar.

Smell is a mix of white wine, oak and grapefruit reduction accented by a lightly pungent goozy funk and a hint of strawberry.

The softly round, light body is mildly tart, but again, characterized by an impressively goozy funk while finishing paper dry. The mild, fine to crackly carbonation delivers a bitter grapefruit citrus character accented by wild allium-like herbs, exhaling a hint of cracker and white grape.

This is a real wild one--vinous, complex, with a hint of salinity. A true American Gueuze.

Hazy medium copper bodied, minimal head. Rich sherry, wet oak, a dab of lemon, mildly vinous and even a touch tannic. Loses a bit of flavor on the finish, but otherwise can't complain too much in terms of complexity. Medium body, lighter carb, touch slick

Had this on tap at the Meddlesome Moth in Dallas.

Poured into a snifter, bright golden yellow color with thin head and lacing. Tart, dry white wine smell and taste. It is light and refreshing and went very well with our food. Nice to be able to try on tap.

Pours a deep reddish golden. Between gold and copper. Not much in the form of head retention. It's got lambic like aroma. That red pepper, green apple, and funk smell. That carries through to flavor as well. Moderate acidity. I'm quite surprised as this is a very well executed blended....*looks at notes*...blended spontaneous fermentation beer.

 

Poured from a bottle (no date I could find) into a Belgian glass

L: pours a darker amber orange, moderate white head with moderate visible carbonation including some rather large bubbles (not sure if that’s a product of my pour?)

S: want to let this warm a bit, but first impression is a nice fairly clean lambic/barnyard funk. Slightly sour/tart, white wine, some hay, lemon. Fairly similar once it’s warmed, get some sweeter pear/melon notes along with more oak

T: damn this is great, brings much more than the nose suggests. Slightly lactic tart/funk at first, with some fruit-forward notes in the middle - getting lemon, melon, pear, peach. As it moves to the finish becomes more malty, get a more full-flavored dough/biscuit character. Medium/long finish, more malt than funk, get more oak here especially once it’s warmed

F: medium+ body, medium+ carbonation, slightly drying but more full flavored (drying increases as it warms)

O: a fantastic sorta-geuze from a place that clearly knows how to brew wild/lambic-style beers. Flavor depth in this is fantastic, blend does a great job capturing the young aspects of the blend along with the more oak-exposed 3 and 4yr brews

12.7oz corked and crown cap bottle, no dating visible. Opened 9-6-20.
1/4" white head holds for a minute and recedes to a thick ring and island.
Bright, golden-orange with limited visibility. Spotty lacing.
Ample carbonation streams race up to keep the remnants of the head alive.
Initial impression of the aroma is sour/tart is on the way.
Upon further nosing wild yeasty funk, spicy notes, and some pumpkin/squash type smells all become noticeable.
Wine barrel / vinous character.
Sharp acidic flash and tartness that builds from start to mid-palate.
Sour tree fruits / stone fruits but nothing specific stands out.
Medium body, carbonation is right on. Refreshing slap to the mouth with every sip...wake up calls.
Tart and tangy with a bone dry finish.
Very Good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Would anyone honestly think this new offering from Jester King would be anything less then incredible? Certainly not.

Obviously considering the way in which this was made, it shares a heavy resemblance to SPON. If you are a collector of great sours and Belgium farmhouse ales, then its worth purchasing a couple of these to have in your cellar. If you are expecting something totally new and different that gets away from JK’s already unique tasting notes, then you'll be disappointed.