Aurora
Funkwerks

 

 

 

 

The pour is a nice golden color with a tall white head. Opens up with a light floral aroma followed by lots of fruits. Plenty of banana, pear, and apple with a a hint of peach. Hints of spice and a light funkiness along with plenty of yeast. Bready malt serves as a clean base. The flavor is crisp and rather dry. Bread malt flavors accompanied by an array of sweet fruits such as pear, sweet apple, peach, and apricot with just a hint of banana. Light citrus and spice qualities in the background.

Pours a slightly hazy golden color with 3 fingers of continuously growing head that keeps reaching out of my glass. The aroma is a really nice combination of bright hops (lemon peel, grapefruit, peach), spicy hops and spicy yeast with a very light malt aroma behind it. Very balanced on the palate between hops, yeast and malt in that order. Definitely Belgian in pedigree but American in style. On the lighter side, which lends to an extreme drinkability and also being food friendly, I had no problem taking down the 750 on my own. Definitely worth seeking out if you are a fan of Belgian Pale Ales.

Bottle obtained in a blind locals trade with Chiefpelz, thanks Joey!

Bottle #922 pours a hazy filtering gold into a tulip glass. Tons of soft bubbles form a whipped two finger head, spectacular retention and messy lacing all over the glass.

Spicy with apple and pear skins, bubble gum, powder and earthiness. Very complex and floral.

Pale malt backbone, cracker thin with mild spice notes of clove and coriander. Light fruit, apple skins, unripe pear and white grape juice. Finishes with grassy hops and a very peppery pop.

Near water thin body with prickly carbonation. Uplifting the melody of flavors. Not drying but the spicy finish is something refreshing and new.

A moderately complex beer that is refreshing and interesting. Funkwerks really knows how to craft an ale. This one is peppery clean and easy to drink. Try it if you get the chance.

Thanks Thorpe, beer is yellow and has a slight haze, white head, small bubbles, some lacing, moderate carbonation, some retention. Looks nice.

Aroma is earthy, sweet, hoppy, interesting. Smellls really nice.

Beer is medium in body, good mouthfeel, a little hoppy, a little estery, a nice mildly dry finish, I'd have this again.

Bottle

Acquired via trade
Thanks, quirkzoo!

Slightly hazed golden with a huge, quickly forming, persistent bone white head that lasts and lasts. This eventually leaves thick rings of lace down the glass.

Floral and earthy hops combine with a funky yeast character. Grass and slight citrus complement the yeast nicely.

Fresh floral hop flavor, moderate bitterness, funky yeast character, earth, hay, and grass combine for quite a lovely flavor.

Medium bodied with high carbonation. A joy and close to perfect.

The incredible mouthfeel and crisp, discernible, delicious flavors come together to make a fine American saison/Belgian pale hybrid.

Bottle #19 of 1008, purchased from Supermarket Liquors in Ft. Collins, CO, around $12. Into a Rodenbach Grand Cru tulip.

A: Pours a pale gold in color with a good 4 fingers of white head that does not want to disappear. Very cloudy. Excellent head retention and awesome spots of lacing are left behind as it slowly fades. Nice.

S: Incredibly fruity, mangos and peaches and a fair amount of banana and bubblegum from the Belgian yeast, smells quite spicy as well. Hop profile is the focus but the yeast really gets in there to mix things up.

T: Follows the nose, strong fruity flavors and a strong Belgian yeast backbone mix with a very small crackery malt profile and respectable bitterness on the finish. Lots of hop resins, again peaches and mangos, but really more towards the mango side of the spectrum. Also quite earthy. Kind of funky and tart on the finish as well. Really enjoyable.

M: Spot on, dry with vibrant carbonation. Dryness of the beer aids in showcasing the flavor and bitterness of the hops. Very nice.

O: A really nice beer and a great way to start the weekend. I really hope this isn't a one off from Funkwerks, as I would definitely drink more of this.

Big thanks to fortsambo for sending a bottle of this out my way. Always love a new Funkwerks brew. Served in a Funkwerks tulip.

The only thing keep this brew from a 5.0 for appearance is that it's fairly hazy. Other than that, a nice light golden color with a huge, foamy white head that really will not go away. Loads of lacing on the way down and a half-finger cap throughout. Did someone say cumulus? Truly impressive.

The nose brings a really nice initial dose of hops. I don't know for sure if it's Styrian Goldings, but it's certainly something along those lines. Nice floral notes with a touch of fruit. Some spice lingering in the background. The yeast hits back with a nice bit of spice and zest.

The flavor is even more impressive with some really nice spice and floral notes. There's a very fresh hop character to this to go along with some yeast spice and a touch of light fruit in the background.

The body is fairly light, though there is a slight chewiness to it. The carbonation is moderate to high, and there's a touch of bitterness and a kiss of grain through the finish. Lingering hop flavor after each sip.

Quite drinkable and no detection of the 7.5% ABV. This is quite impressive and something I would certainly like to try again.

 

750ml bottle - number 107 of 1008. Pours a clear (hazy with last pour) yellow gold with a big frothy white head that retains well and laces the glass.

The aroma is sweet gummy tropical fruit and belgian yeast with some floral notes.

The flavor is sweet tropical fruits and some bready malt with a medium peppery bitter dry finish. The mouthfeel is light to medium bodied with slightly sharp carbonation.

Overall, an interesting Belgian. Tons of tropical fruits, but a bit too sweet for me.

Bottle #5/1008. Served to Duvel tulip at 50*. The beer pours a hazy pale golden color with a nice thick white cap, great retention and lacing. This beer looks great. The nose is also excellent, a pleasant blend of belgian yeast funk and hoppy citrus quality. What's really nice is that neither is prominent rather they blend very well. A hint of pale malt. So far so good! the flavor build on the nose and is even more complex. A light pale malt base provides an element from which the belgian yeast funk taste and the citrus builds. Fruity: oranges, tangerine, apples, pears. Sweet but not overly so. Light in body especially figuring the 7.5%abv and well carbonated. Well balanced. Overall, I really enjoyed it. Another hit from Funkwerks. Highly recommended.

Pours a hazy, light yellow with a huge, foamy white head that took a couple minutes to calm down enough to allow me to even consider drinking. Nice lacing. Ssmooth and balanced aroma that intensifies as it warms and allows the funkiness to become a greater focus. Some peach biscuit, a touch of pepper, yeast and the funkiness that comes with it. Initial flavor hit is a sweet peach, a touch of wheat in the middle closes out with a little pepper and some hoppy bitterness that continues to develop in strength into the aftertaste. Funky. Very crisp moutfeel with an active dose of carbonation. This is my 2nd Funkwerks offering and another winner from them.

 

Bottle #210 out of 1008.

750 ml bottle served cold into goblet.

Aurora is a hazy pale yellow color with thick long lasting white head. It settles slowly leaving a nice bit of lacing behind.

Aroma is some Saison, some Belgian pale ale. Nice hoppy quality with floral and citrus. Some funky yeast going on in there too.

Flavor is complex but balanced. Light malt base provides a back drop for big hop forward bitterness. The yeast also shines here with strong pepper and great farmhouse funk.

Mouthfeel is light in body and well carbonated. Balanced towards the hoppy end of the spectrum but without overdoing it.

Overall a really nice Belgian pale ale and well worth a try.

 

 

Served from a 750ml bottle (#913/1008) into an Ithaca Excelsior! tulip

A: Pours a hazy pale gold. The head is about two fingers of very white, large bubbles

S: The funk is dominant. Nutmeg, clove and some orange and lighter fruit notes. There is a little more depth here than most Belgian Pale Ales that I come across.

T: The funk is there again but this time with a lot of wheat followed by some apple/lemon notes and some grass. The finish is fairly bitter and the Styrian Aurora hops really come through here.

M: Very nicely carbonated and smooth, this one goes down easy

O: A good BPA. I had a little higher hopes for this but it is immensely drinkable and complex enough that I am still quite happy.