Miscellanea Vol. 3
Off Color Brewing

Received from @fbarber in the NBS BIF #14. Poured into a a Side Project Lambic Style glass also provided by @fbarber. It pours a slightly hazy, honey-orange color with a thin, ecru-colored head and minimal lacing. It boasts a big, fruity, Brett nose with all kinds of sweet fruit, including berry and melon. It's very floral - like walking into a hot house during the winter. It's one of the sweetest Wild Ales I've encountered. Big flavor of red berry and ripe melon over wheat cracker. It's akin to dry toast spread with sweet preserves. It's also oaky, musty, and earthy. You can taste the Brett influence but it's not overly sour. The mouth feel is very thick and creamy with low carbonation. The 7.8% ABV gives it good substance. Overall, this is a delightful Wild Ale. It would be a great introduction to the style for someone concerned with sourness. I'm grateful to have tried it.

Cloudy dusty golden body with a white cap. Smell features funky peach, grapefruit, lemon, melon, and vinous oak. Taste is the clear star here though: notes of watermelon, passion fruit, grapefruit, barnyard and horseblanket funk, oak, lemon, peach skins, strawberry, white wine, and flower stems. So complex! Feel reflects this complexity with vinous, oaky, funky, and sour notes, really satisfying with low acidity. Love what OC is doing with their wild stuff!

Bottled 12/8/20

This is quite a large roster of breweries collaborating on this one beer, I have to wonder how much work really went in on each end. I'm sure the result will be good, but it's just funny to me to see 5 different breweries working on an individual beer. Allagash is the only one of these that I've actually had before, but I've heard good things about the others. Another trade extra from fo1ksguitar, but sadly the final one. Let's crack it open

Pours an opaque burnt orange with a finger of off white head that quickly fades to a ring and leaves minimal lacing

Oh yeah, that's just straight up funk in the nose on this one, some real tartness to it, I'm picking up on aromas of wet hay, white pepper, lemon yogurt, sharp oak, white wine vinegar, and slightly rotten apple

Where the nose suggested a more tart funk, it takes an approach of a smooth earthy funk in taste. On the front end of the sip I'm tasting bready malt, toasted grain, lemon juice, white pepper, and light leather. The swallow brings notes of lemon yogurt, bread crust, rustic bread, light herbal hops, and a touch of smooth oak

A medium body pairs with gentle carbonation, resulting in a beer that's brisk and smooth simultaneously. Finishes neutral in terms of dryness, with a saison-esque funk

I enjoyed this one but it's nothing amazing. A fun little beer for sure, and one that's actually little in the 8.5 oz bottle

Beautiful beer. Glowing, amber color. Minimal head, but not in a bad way. Smell is subtle, but all funk. It's complex, but in ways I can't describe. Taste is exactly what you'd expect from the nose. It's not sour, it's not tart, it's 100% barnyard funk. Every sip seems a little different. Great depth / complexity. I lack the skills to describe it properly, but it's a really good, funky beer.

Released 12/8/20; drank 4/2/21 @ the Yarchives.

Cloudy orange appearance.

An even pour yielded a small white head; almost no lace.

Peach, mild wheat and tart pineapple notes in the nose.

Medium mouthfeel.

Peach & candied wheat flavors up front; tart pineapple & mild orange peel notes on the finish.

A fantastic wild beer; fruity, balanced & complex. I'd have another!!

As much as I like and drink Off Color (they are #1 on both counts), I avoid their Wilds because I avoid Wilds.
But Miscellanea #3 is good for several reasons... but probably not good enough for a Wild-averse like me to have again.

Three good points. First...... Several crafters brews are blended into Miscellanea. Blending bacterias is a rare skill outside of Flanders. It will soon be here in Chicago, in the middle of a huge continent and across an ocean.

Second, #3 has an interesting orange tinge in a rather dull Looking style. Less impressive are the Smells, average for a style that offers the unexpected. Tastes are balanced; fruity, sweet, tart, no hoppy interference. Finishes gently tart. Decently medium-mouthed; but know that this is a style I often swallow quickly, instead of savoring.

Third.... The tart balance makes #3 decent for the table. Paired OK with a sandwich, paired better with a salad. But the bottom-line: Wilds rarely work well at the table for me... especially if I have a saison handy. A votre Sante' !

Served from the bottle in a Mickey Finn's shaker pint glass.

Do people still have that one drawer than just holds random stuff? Anyway, this stuff pours a somewhat murky sunset amber topped by a half-finger of short-lived glowing off-white foam. The nose comprises apricot, vanilla, light graham cracker, mixed sour berries, light funk, and a twinge of vinegar. The taste holds notes of tart orange and grapefruit, peach, yogurt funk, and a pinch of what may or may not be nutmeg. The body is a light medium, with a light moderate carbonation and a sorta/kinda drying finish. Overall, a tasty sour treat, one with plenty of layers of flavors for you to peel away as you enjoy it.

L: A melange of colors: peachy yellowish brown with a tinge of berry red. A little cloudy. Short head quickly subsided.
S: Funky, fruity, gives the impression of being very acidic
T: Begins with bright melon, earthy, very funky, and just a touch of tartness. Then it does a complete 180 and finishes biscuity and dry.
F: Light, a little effervescent, then a very dry finish
O: Incredible taste. Just an all around wonderfully fermented wild ale