Wild Ride
Parallel 49 Brewing Company

22 oz bottle, shared 3 ways. Pours initially a clear pale yellow with finger of white head but dregs result in a hazy yellow ending.
Aroma somewhat muted - as warmed floral and slightly yeasty, cereal malt, pear, apple.
Tastes of crackery malt, some apple, pear, mild funky yeast and floral notes.
Active carbonation on palate - light and refreshing - no indication of the 9% ABV. Really a good beer, just nothing remarkable - like a muted Delerium Tremens.

 

341ml bottle, day 22 of 'The Great White Wonder Adventure Pack', a collaboration between Central City and Parallel 49 to provide a Beer Advent (I can say that, even if they can't) holiday experience. Ah, shit, and here I thought we'd get through Advent season without M. Brett rearing his ugly head.

This beer pours a clear, bright medium golden yellow colour, with one skinny-ass finger of weakly puffy, loosely foamy, and somewhat bubbly dirty white head, which leaves a bit of roiling wavecrest lace around the glass as it quickly blows off.

It smells of gritty and grainy pale malt, canned pear syrup, a quite subtle earthy funkiness, and some tame leafy, weedy, and floral green hop bitters. The taste is grainy and crackery pale malt, a bit of wet cardboard, ephemeral funky notes (if you hadn't have told me that there was Brett in here, I probably wouldn't have even noticed), a faint pome fruitiness, and more well understated leafy, musty, and dead floral hoppiness.

The carbonation is average in its palate-satiating frothiness, the body a so-so middleweight, and sort of smooth, with nothing really a cause for concern here. It finishes off-dry, the malt and wan fruitiness carrying the lingering day.

Overall - this comes across as a simple and plain version of a Belgian strong ale, in that the supposed funk never materializes, which is absolutely fine with me, but what's left behind isn't much better. This just seems, well, old and tired in its flavour components - no wild ride, I'm afraid. At least the 18-proof wowee sauce measure is pleasantly obfuscated.

 

 

 

Poured from a bomber into a tulip glass. Tuesday night and after studying I decided to try Parallel 49's 2nd Anniversary Beer. Parallel 49 makes a many good beer so their Anniversary Ales are definitely worth a shot despite my not researching this one at all.

Appearance: Poured a light golden colour with 2 inches of head. Definitely between straw and golden in colour. Nice bubbly, loose, white head. Good amount of lacing down the glass. Head diminished to a nice cap all over the beer. Zero haze.

Smell: Initially, quite funky and sour. The brettanomyces definitely shines through. Heavy notes of apple and pear. I believe it's some ethyl acetate contributing an estery note to it. Vinegar or acidic notes. Medium amounts of citrusy pineapple and white grape. Zero booze smell which is quite surprising for 9%. Zero to minimal Belgian spiciness. Quite fresh smelling.

Taste: Definitely the funky taste is the most promising, however, it doesn't outshine the rest of the beer's characteristics. Certainly, notes of apple and pear. To my surprise, no identifiable indication that it is a 9% abv beer. I would soon have put the beer's abv at 7. However, upon three-quarters of finishing haha, it is quite apparent of the 9%. Very light tasting; nothing outshining anything else. Quite balanced. Not a lot of Belgian yeast spiciness that I have been accustomed to with Belgian ales especially with Belgian Strongs.

Mouthfeel: Almost syrup-like, however it is quite light. Medium carbonation. Quite dry.

Overall: A quite nice Belgian Golden Strong Ale interpretation. Congratulations to Parallel 49 on their 2nd year anniversary. Parallel 49 makes many amazing beers but I feel this one lacks a certain something to it. The alcohol may be a bit high but it certainly doesn't hinder the taste or aroma of the beer. I feel that it is almost a hybrid between a Belgian Strong Golden Ale and a Saison, however, I am certainly no expert on either of the styles.

I'd undoubtedly recommend this to something especially if they are a fan of the brewery. Nevertheless, I don't feel that this is by any means one of the best beers that Parallel 49 puts forth. Their Imperial Stout or Hopnotist or even Gypsey Tears or Vow of Silence are superior. However, this is still a solid beer, so pick it up if you have a shot, even if you don't like the Belgian Golden Strong style.

 

 

 

Confession time: I don't really like Belgian style beers. Now, carrying on:

A: Pale, a bit darker than straw, lots of carbonation and head.
S: Yeast, pear, apple. Fairly delicate aromas.
T: Lots of pear. Better than expected.
F: Creamy, fairly thick. Not quite syrupy, but close.

 

 

 

A: Extremely clear light amber with slight head that dissipated quickly.

S: Pineapple, apple, pear and hay. Alcohol presents itself as it warms.

T: Syrupy sweet with biscuit, pear, white grapes, apple, grass, spice and hay.

M: Starts syrupy and ends drier. Medium to thick viscosity.

O: I enjoyed the Belgian yeast and brett brux trois combo. I think this beer would be much better if it was less syrupy, if the ABV was scaled back to the lower end of the style and if some Caravienne malt was used in the grain bill to help head retention and give the beer the characteristic look of the style. The pear and apple aspects of Calypso hops could even be appropriate for this beer to intensify pre-existing aromas and flavours.