Appleation
Crooked Stave Artisan Beer Project

 

gorgeous can on this caught my eye even before i saw it was crooked stave. this is a collaboration with angry orchard, and there must be something going on there that is a lot cooler than most of the ciders they make, because this is at least the second or third heady brewery at this level collaborating with them on funky wild ale, so i wonder what the deal is. anyway, this is extraordinary, one of the coolest crooked stave beers ive had in years, spontaneous beer fermented with cider apple must and double dry hopped, i love everything about it. the pour is golden and pretty clear and thin, lighter than expected with a high rising and quick settling airy head and lots of bubbles on the edges of the plastic hotel cup i unfortunately had to drink it out of. epic nose here, tart cider apple for sure, right from the field, autumnal immediately then, but also bretty and really interesting on the fermentation side, a little wheat, wet animal, burlap, hay loft, all of it, super rustic, minimal in terms of ingredients but wildly complex, my mouth waters, there is some acidity, and the hops are weirdly compatible, i wasnt expecting that. thankfully the hops dont make this all bitter and oversaturated and green, they accent the fruit and the funk really well, i didnt know cascade was being grown in new zealand, but these seem different than their brethren from the northwest, more fruity and more delicate, at least in this context. the flavor is great with the apple character, tannic and skinny, a white wine note to this, and the funky basque region cider character, really complex yeast side here, brett sure but some bacteria too, almost a lambic thing to it, but its not all that sour, just amazing. the fruit and the yeast go so well together, there is still a wheaty beer base to this, but it drinks like a real interesting hybrid of wild saison and unique cider. high carbonation, very light body, bone dry. massively impressive and clever and well executed and delicious, blown away!