St. Bretta (Summer) Citrus Wildbier Batch 2 Valencia Orange
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

Poured from 12.7 ounce (375 ml) bottle into a proper tulip glass. Beautiful slightly hazy yellowish orange colored body, with an aggressive pour yielding a thick white head that settled to a thin ring. No lacing to speak of. Light malt, orange, citrus zest, and yeast funk on the nose. These carry over to the palate as well, and are supplemented by moderate tartness, understated bitterness, and a dry and astringent finish. There is also an unmistakable (to me, anyway) umami note. Bottle date on this sample was August 2015. Well executed, and an exceptional beer.

Reviewed from notes. Poured from a 375 mL bottle into a nonic pint glass.

A: Pours a slightly hazy gold, with good visible carbonation but only minimal head formation – only a ring of white foam comes up.

S: Brettanomyces funk and citrus rind. Cracker malts, orangey citric acid with a light tartness. Some saison-like yeastiness, and mild fruity esters.

T: Oranges, bitter citrus pith and tart citric acid. Brett earthiness, and barnyard funk – modest in amount but definitely present. Cracker malts, mild fruity yeast esters. But all these fail to balance the dry lactic tartness that lasts with fading orange pulp in the hang.

M: A light body, no alcohol flavor to speak of, and fairly low carbonation sensation.

O: Quite enjoyable – the Brett and the orange flavors play quite nicely together. It’s not blowing me away…it could be funkier, or have been more hopped, or something…but for what it was aiming for, quite good.
As an aside, I did spend some time while drinking this thinking that it tasted nothing like a witbier. Then I got up to check the bottle, and discovered that it said "Wildbier". Probably should read better...

 

Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project "St. Bretta Brettanomyces Citrus Wildbier - Valencia Orange"
375 ml brown glass bottle, "August 2015", sampled on 23 DEC 2016
$7.99 @ Knightly Spirits, Orlando, FL

Notes via stream of conscious: Glowing orange-gold body. Hazy. Creamy bright white head. Aroma of Brettanomyces. Citrus, specifically orange, although that's no surprise as Valencia oranges are added. It looks a little like orange juice, and it smells a little like orange juice. The Brett expresses wet leather, metal, damp grass/straw, and mustiness. It's quite tart at first sip, or should I say sour? Sharp. Acidic. It's citrusy, and funky but "clean", or at least reigned in. There are no odd phenolics, no "baby diaper" or unpleasant notes... it's one of the more straightforward Brett beers I've had. There's a dryness that comes from that, from the acidity, but oak can give you that as well. I'm not saying there's oak involved, but it has a little bit of that character. Bitterness? Yes, there's some, but it's low level, and might not even be coming from hops, it could be coming from citrus peel - regardless, not much is needed as the acidity and dryness of the Brett and citrus takes care of that. I guess what makes it stand out from other beers in its category is the brightness of the citrus - it's very nice, and refreshing. Following that you have the Brett character that gives it complexity. You might call that a 2-trick pony, but those are two very good tricks! This is a perfect breakfast beer. It's like a Mimosa but with less sweetness and more depth; so forget those rich dark beers and go for a refreshing eye-opener! To finish up: limited head retention and lacing, as is usual with sour beers; very finely effervescent with a seemingly natural carbonation that gently zests; light-medium, or maybe medium-light in body. At the very least attention getting, and at best a finely refined experiment in where Brettanomyces beers can go. Absolutely worth trying, and worth seeking out for fans of sour/wild/Brett beers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bottle from Florida
Hazy deep yellow color with a good sized bubbly white head that persists. Citrus and cereal grains with a bit of earthy funk on the nose. The flavor is tart with some bitter orange and a bit of bready cereal maltiness and a lingering tart earthy funk.