The Tide And Its Takers
Anchorage Brewing Company

 

Anchorage Brewing 'The Tide and It's Takers' @ 9.0% , served from a corked/caged 375 ml bottle , batch#6
A-pour is a light gold from the bottle to a slight hazy gold in the glass with a small white , dissipating head leaving a spotty lace ring along the tulip
S-French oak Chardonnay barrels
T-start is a bit sweet , more brett on the swallow
MF-mild carbonation , feels full bodied
Ov-feeling the ABV as I move on to another beer
prost LampertLand

 

750ml bottle into a tulip. 2016 vintage, so 5 years old.

Looks very good in the glass. A faintly hazy yellow/amber body. Small bright white head persists as a ring leaving scattered lacing.

White wine, apple, other mixed fruit. A little sharp, very mild funk.

On tasting, there is a lot going on, most of it subtle. Non citrus fruit, white wine, a little spice, touch of sourness, and very dry. Funk is barely noticable, as is the abv.

Mouth a touch above medium, finish tart/sour apple with some spice, and very dry.

Overall, a very enjoyable sipper. Good beer to muse over on a cool early summer's evening.

 

 

Look: Opaque dark orange. One finger of fizzy white head with short retention.

Smell: The distinct brett funk, plus white wine.

Taste: Initially nothing, then a light funky sourness with a Chardonnay flavor and low medicinal bitterness. The flavor is overall highly muted. No alcohol is noticeable.

Mouthfeel: Slightly thin, with high carbonation.

Overall: Despite initially seeming like it'll knock your teeth out, the result is actually a highly subdued beer.

 

*Poured into a Teku glass from a 375mL bottle*

This beer poured out a cloudy dark orange color into my glass producing no head at all. There was a tiny bit of white lacing, but that's about it. I thought the color on this was nice, but considering the age on this beer, I wasn't expecting a strong head anyways, so I wasn't let down or anything by the lack of it.

Upfront, I was able to pick up on notes of peaches, apples, honey, apricots, under-ripe mandarin oranges, nectarines, and a bit of oak. Chardonnay was present throughout and served as a solid backbone that brought all of the previously mentioned aromas together.

I thought that this tasted very nice overall having a nice balance between sweet and tart while also having a slight sour note in the back-end. Notes of peaches, apples, honey, mandarin oranges, nectarines and apricots were prominent throughout, while the notes of sweet pears and peaches were stronger in the finish. These flavors were coupled with some barrel character, giving me slightly alcoholic notes of Chardonnay.

The body on this was very soft and medium bodied. This was unsurprisingly pretty lightly carbonated and it left little to no bitter aftertaste. There was definitely a notable Chardonnay aftertaste to this beer, but it wasn't very strong or lingering. This was very easy to drink.

Overall, this was definitely one of the better Brett beers that I've had. This was a nice, fruity, sweet, tart, and a slightly sour experience. These characteristics coupled with a nice and soft body, made this very enjoyable and easily drink-able.

Pours a lovely opaque gold with a small white head. The initial impression on the nose and tastebuds is solvent, quickly overshadowed before it can become a complete turn-off by flavors of chardonnay, oak barrel, citrus, sour and tangy fruits, and bretty funk. The oak and chardonnay are most pronounced, there's some hoppy bitterness in there as well. Interesting tripel, much drier than others I've had of this style.

 

The Tide and its Takers is a Belgian Triple Ale that's been fermented first with Belgian yeast in oak foudres, then in oak chardonnay barrels with Brett, and then bottle fermented with yet another yeast. It's got the addition of Saaz and Styrian Golding hops, which I've never tried before, but don't provide the typical hop character I was expecting, and I like it. The body is nice and golden yellow, which is was I was expecting. You can smell the Brett yeast product right off the bat, which makes me excited for the taste. It's got that nice Belgian body with a bit of funk from the Brett that balances nicely. It has a nice finish of sweet dryness to make you want to drink more. I would recommend this beer to anyone who is a Belgian fan to challenge their opinion on what a Belgian can be.

 

 

 

 

 

Initial wafts indicate a slight nail polish remover scent. After a light sip, I pick up on a heavy pickle juice taste, followed by a grapefruity finish. I could see this as a useful vomit inducer when you’ve had too much to drink and need to empty the tank so you can imbibe something of higher quality. Enjoy with caution!

 

 

Pours a hazy straw color. Nice carbonation. Smell is chardonnary and champange. Smells like the streets of France. Taste is an exlposion. Chardonnary, champange, grapefruit, lemons, citrus, pepper, vanilla, nuts. Is like a mimosa.

 

My first Brett. I usually like maltier brews, but this was very enjoyable. I definitely plan to pick up more of this. I wasn't able to examine it's appearance closely, as the room was dimly lit. The body is lighter than I expected, but not too thin. The complex flavor has elements of white wine, oak, grass, and sour fruit, with sourness and wine fairly predominant.

Cellared: 2014
I had this cellared for a while.
The Brett is not as pronounced, but lots of excellent flavor comes through. Deep wine barrel oak, berry, apricot, and a smooth MF.

Wonderful to drink on a cold winter night.

Poured from 750ml bottle into glass. Label has this as 'BATCH #4 JULY/2014'.
Cloudy, pale gold colored body, with an apricot tint. Each pour results in a fizzy head which recedes very quickly. No lacing.
Aroma has lots of sour fruit - peach, pear, and apricot. The oak barrel is prominent. Some edges of funk here too - horse blanket, rubber, straw and wood.
Taste is sour fruit and lots of funk. The rubber aspect of the funk is quite strong. The oak is less prominent that in the smell, but does express some white wine flavor. Has a dry finish.
Medium mouth feel. Good carbonation. Very smooth in presentation.
This beer is included in the beer style of 'Belgian Tripel', which I think is incorrect. This beer is labeled as a "triple" because it has been triple fermented. Better to call this an 'American Wild Ale', or perhaps an 'American Brett', because the beer is not overly sour. Recommended for those who like a strong funk, but a little sour fruit as well.

 

 

At the right side of the bottle it states: "BATCH #5 SEPT/2016"

Appearance: The body is hazy with a light orange and yellow color. It has a short, creamy textured, white head that is far shorter than the standard Tripel. It has some spotty lacing.

Aroma: It has a strong sour fruit aroma. After the beer sits for a while and warms up a bit, it picks up an interesting honey scent.

Taste: There is a clear fermented grape or wine flavor to the beer which is excellent because it jumps onto the palate head-first and joins this faintly tart and bitter grapefruit character. There is a bit of passion fruit towards the back of the beer. After drinking the beer for a while it picks up a a very soft woody flavor. All of the flavors in this beer have bonded superbly well together.

Mouthfeel: It is a very well balanced beer. There is a light tartness to the beer but it the key is that it feels mellowed out and blended with the body of the beer.The beer is surprisingly smooth. It has a light body with low bitterness and soft carbonation. It just feels expertly well made.

Overall: It's the kind of beer that just makes you smile because it's that good. I should caution you that this is a Brett beer first and foremost. It doesn't harbor any of the classic Tripel characters which is a bit unfortunate but the key here is that the beer overall is outstanding. On the silkscreen print it does say that this is an "ALE AGED IN FRENCH OAK CHARDONNAY BARRELS" and this is an honest advertisement as it relates to the flavor of this beer. There is a very clear wine flavor and the oak is still there. I would highly recommend it to those who enjoy Brett beers or those who enjoy wine. If you are a classic Tripel lover who enjoys abbey style beers over sours or wild fermented ales I would recommend that you either not buy it or find a friend who does enjoy the aforementioned to share with. I would absolutely buy it again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appearance - Pours a warm honey colour with two fingers of bubbly white head.

Smell - Spicy yeast, fruity esters, spicy and floral hop aromas, hint of honey from the malts, vinous and oak aromas from the chardonnay barrels.

Taste - Spicy yeast, fruity esters, and spicy hops and floral hops. The vinous and oak take charge next with the hint of honey sweetness from the malts rounding out the brew.

Mouthfeel - Light to medium bodied with light to moderate carbonation. Alcohol warmth is disguised.

Overall - A pleasant twist on the tripel style. I appreciate the flavours and nuances that come from the barrel alongside the other elements of the beer.

750ml, caged and corked bottle - it seems that Sam Calagione wrote the marketing screed on the back 'label', but I wonder how involved he was in the actual brewing process.

This beer pours a slightly hazy, medium golden yellow colour, with a teeming tower of puffy, finely foamy, and gently bubbly off-white head, which leaves some random and thickly splattered lace around the glass as it evenly subsides.

It smells of indistinct sour fruit (maybe lemon?), musty gym socks, hard cheese, white wine lees, a faint woody vanillan character, and a rather tame sugary graininess. The taste is tart fruit (lemon, apple, and pineapple), a big dose of funky Brett, buttery and oaky white wine, simple syrup, some old-school yeastiness, a still hard to isolate bready malt, and very low-key earthy, weedy, and mildly perfumed floral hop bitters.

The carbonation is quite active in its palate-coating frothiness, the body a decent middleweight, and more or less smooth, as those oaky notes go a long way in keeping things between the ditches here, as it were. It finishes off-dry, but in a complex, complicated, and convoluted manner.

Overall, this is an agreeable enough offering, particularly if you are a sour and/or funk fan. Being that I am only the former, this one was a bit of a chore to get through. Props for the big booze quotient, however, and its near-perfect integration. Yeah, this should really be classified as a Wild Ale, as the Tripel essences are duly obfuscated.