Space Tiger
Off Color Brewing

 

 

 

 

Not sure why this says retired. I just picked some up from the taproom.
The taste was funky and almost like a strange tea. It was good but hard to drink more than one of those small bottles at a time

 

 

 

this is a great bottle of beer, really well developed funky brett complexion to it, and quite a bit of nuance, white grape and dried grass and fresh citrus, but its also pretty sturdy as they go, lots of body and weight to it, not as light and delicate as i normally prefer this sort of thing to be, and in some ways its not as distinctive as a lot of the other off color beers in that the yeast isnt as specific to them this time, and it could have been made by a number of breweries, it seems less unique to them, especially after enjoying several other of their wild ales in the same prolonged session. hazy honey colored brew with a rising white fizzing head, an aroma of dried orange peel, grassy hops, and fruity brett thats well established. tons and tons of wheat building up the body here, and maybe a little medium crystal to give it this color and light sweetness it has, far maltier than a lot of these ever get. i like the spritzing carbonation trying to keep it light too, its a neat feature texturally. complex yeast profile with some french saison characteristics underneath the brett, probably a mixed ferment here. overripe peach, apricot, and tangerine essence come in late with a little hop bitterness. sturdy an flavorful brew, a very enjoyable brew overall but hard to appreciate it as off color specifically. you will know what i mean if youve had a bunch of their beers in this style...

 

 

 

Poured into a tulip, the appearance was a glossy burnt orange color with a finger’s worth of white foamy head that quickly dissipated to leave barely any lace. The aroma had some peppercorns, wheat, lemon pulp, barnyard and basement funk, light peach and some grassy hops. The flavor started sweet and then popped a little bit of zest, light spice and a balancing vinous sour. Funky barnyard and basement mustiness permeates dryly on my taste buds to meld into the aftertaste and slide into the finish. The feel was between light and medium bodied with a fair crisp sessionable sort of sour feel rolling along my tongue. Decent carbonation and the ABV felt appropriate. Overall, pretty nice sour ale well worthy of having again, but I think my buddy paid over $25 for this beast when it wasn’t that much of a beast by ABV. Not sure if I would have again due to the price.

 

 

 

 

 

Pours a slightly hazy straw-gold and is a bit overcarbonated, but I guess that's to be expected from a wild saison. Once the billowy head recedes, there are nice spots of lacing.

Smells sharp, lemony and mineralic. Just a bit of hay.

First taste is much milder than I expected, with very little of the lemon/sour zing that the nose hinted at. Instead it tastes quite musty up front, and then very clean and lemony mid palate. As the beer opens up, notes of lime, guava and medicinal Brett come thru. Plenty of dust and hay in the background. Very soft, round, dry finish that allows for the rustic Brett notes to linger for a good while. The finish may be the best part about this beer.

Overall, this is a bit mild for a "wild" ale, but solid if you approach it as a saison. In the same category as Saison-Brett or Saison Rue, but not quite as refined.

 

 

6/11/20 I had Space Tiger almost 4 years ago. Here is what I said: "Went well with a variety of appetizers and summer salads." Obviously, I had been drinking too much and eating too much and talking too much to write a review. I am thrilled, on this day, to prove that I have matured enough that I can do all four at once.

Bought this 2020 copy at their production bottle store. Since it is not my pay-grade to determine if this "is no longer brewed" per BA, I offer another two theories for your consideration: either Off Color saved a few from 2016 for those customers who venture to the brewhouse during a global pandemic for a saison (that's me); or Off Color keeps playing with their basic saison recipe (their Predators and Lions) and likes pulling some aside, alter it ever-so-slightly, and bottle it as Space Tiger.

While I am highly unlikely to remember what Space Tiger tasted like under those conditions 4 years ago (and also in my current condition), I am confident in saying that today's bottle is spawned from the same saison family. My label also says 7.8 ABV and uses the same 3 hops as 2016... along with the same "Secret Ingredient: Oxygen." Malts on this label are "Pils, Flake Wheat, Special Aromatic and Munich Dark. IBUs: 21."

You decide what Off Color has done in 2020. I will wish I had more.

As for my beer review, I will keep it mercifully short: this is refreshing like Apex Predator... and versatile with foods also.

Cheers !

2/14/21 Valentines Day. I start on my 4 pack of 250 ml bottles and decide, almost immediately, that Off Color's genius shines again. Both refreshing after indoor tennis and versatile with lunch (and right sized for lunch), I have found a new lunch companion. But satisfied that this review has gone on long enough and told more than its share of jokes, I now merely keep count over at UnTappd. A Sante !

3/26/21 Had to note the bacteria scare at Off Color. Just had my second copy of the 4-pack and I actually like it more; a bit less funky (Brett-y) and even better at the table to accompany Bob's world-famous soup. But when I have the remaining two this summer and if there is a problem, I will take-up Off Color on their offer to take back remaining copies. For now, we are all good.

 

insanely big head, but great beer once you get beyond that

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A beautiful and easy drinking farmhouse beer, as one would expect from Off Color. Needs to be a bit warmer for the nuances to come out. Nice balance of yeast driven flavors and hops. Dry as a hay bale. Welcomes food.