Ol' Oi!
Jester King Brewery

 

 

Had this from draft at the brewery. Unfortunately, we still have virus protocols going so this was served in a plastic cup. Even so, this beer looked good with a nice head and lacing. Sour apple smell and taste, along with rich red wine. Woodsy and earthy with some toasted malt finish. Some cherry and berry flavors are revealed as it warms. A very good wild dark ale.

Would give this a six if I could. Carbonated on the front and mellow with almond and stone fruit on the back end. This was Batch #6 bottled in January 2020. I wish I bought more than one for aging.

 

Serving: 1 pt 9.4 fl oz bottle poured into a Spiegelau beer tulip glass. “Blend # 6 - January 2020.”

Appearance: Deep, dark brown with an inch of thick, tan foam, and nice lacing as it drinks.

Smell: Lightly toasted grains, red wine vinegar, tart vinegar, leather, oak and earthy minerals.

Taste: Tart berries and bright vinegar, slight fruit and malt sweetness, along with slight toasted grains, toffee, and lingering lactic acid funk.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with lively carbonation and refreshing feel.

Overall: Another well crafted, balanced but complex offering from Jester King. Bright, tart and refreshing, but with some heftier toasted malt and earth character.

 

Foggy but enticing chestnut brown with some thin lighter brown edges and a short but persistent tan head settling to a creamy blanket with high retention.

Definitely like a Oud Bruin, or even a Flanders Red such as the good Duchesse, but less sour. Tart crabapple and cran-cherry mix with a moderate brown roast and some dark oak.

The smooth medium body has a soft filling carbonation. A softly dark, toasty exhale comes out after the powder dry finish, while a faint hint of stinky cheese arises as it warms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

750ml bottle, served in a willi becher glass. Pours a murky cola brown body, one finger thick offwhite head, good retention, not much lacing. Smell is lemon, brett leather, a bit of oak, light toasted grain, a bit of toffee, fairly sweet and not too acidic. Flavour is mild, like a light porter with brett in it. Touch of leather, fair bit of lemon, mild acetic acidity, fair bit of oak and a little vanillin. Mouthfeel is medium-lighter bodied, slightly watery, actually what I'd expect from the brettanomyces. Anyway, its a little thin and lacking much on the backend, maybe a slight lemony acidity. Reminds me a lot of New Glarus' R&D Sour Porter, which is another one of these beers brewed in a theoretically historical tradition, always cool to see breweries doing this.

 

 

 

 

25.4 oz. bottle poured into Jester King Snorkel snifter
(Blend #5 — 3/8/2017; 6.2% ABV)

L: clear brown-orange pouring out of bottle, bronze more than copper with less amber and more brown in it; pushes up short but thick head of offwhite/beige foam about 1/2-inch tall; minor sticking, almost no lacing, keeps a thin but constant collar of foam

S: a cloud of vinegar/fingernail polish comes off it as it pours; super tart cranberries; kumquats, lemons, lemon peel; as it warms, quite vinous but with enough fruit sweetness (tart cranberry again) to give it that good Flanders oud bruin pop

T: tart cranberries and lots of fingernail polish, the most of any Jester King brew I've encountered, gives it just a twinge of sweetness along with vinegar, lemon, lemonade and super tart cranberries or even raspberries; as the palate adjusts, all of Jester King's yeasty barn must flavor and old beat-up hop earthiness (Golding hops in this case) takes over, and the beer begins tasting a bit more like JK farmhouse and less of a Flanders oud bruin, though the vinous and cranberry notes never stray too far; as vinous as it gets, there's almost a pinch of molasses in the finish as you near the halfway point of the first full glass

F: despite a middling show off the pour, there's loads of good bottle-conditioned carbonation that mixes perfectly with a light-middleweight liquid; JK excels in this area and does so again with Ol' Oi!

O: arguably a fantastic Flanders oud bruin ... it's main flavor is a bit more lemony than cranberry, but it does have that slightly vinous tart cranberry note of the good oud bruin; when the JK yeast profile kicks in, it becomes tied to that farmhouse outside Austin ... amazing how they've created their own signature; everything a good "sour" is meant to be

750ml bottle

Pours dark maroon red-brown with a creamy light khaki colored foam head. Smells very complex almost like a Lambic - Flanders Red mix, with mild smoke, woody cork, spice, red wine, dark fruits, tart cherry, red grapes, caramel, chocolate, molasses, dark brown sugar, toasted bready malts, oak, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Tastes acidic and almost vinegary with notes of mild smoke, woody cork, spice, red wine, sour dark fruits, tart cherry, red grapes, caramel, chocolate, molasses, dark brown sugar, toasted bready malt, oak, with floral earthy herbal grassy pine. Feels medium bodied, creamy with moderate high carbonation. Overall a nice barrel aged sour brown ale.

Look: Dark brown with three inch head that recedes quickly.
Smell: Funky, smoky, sap, and bark.
Taste: Tart, Grape, red wine, funky, and smoke.
Mouthfeel: Complex and unique.
Mouthfeel: An interesting dark, tart sour ale.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a dark, rusty brown and topped with a dense tan froth. That signature JK sour aroma floats forth welcoming. A little sugar and plum are also noticed. The vinegary sourness is obviously noticeable on the palate, but checked with faint notes of plum and even fainter notes of chocolate. Medium in body and quite dry.

More JK goodness as expected.