Vestige Wither
Fonta Flora Brewery

 

500ml bottle, blue wax. Served in a snifter glass.

Pours a hazy light caramel-orange colour, half finger white head, good retention time. Thin collar persists, bits of lacing. Smells of distinct fennel, but if I'm not thinking too hard about it, it is more of a citrus peel sweetness with a light lactic acidity and graininess behind it. It's not fennel bitter like the dried fennel seed, but it is more of a floral fennel. How about that? I learned something new today. Flavour follows the note, citrus sweetness, light floral aromatics, citrus peel bitterness, light lactic acidity and caramel sweetness balancing each other out, but overall the fennel floral character is the big player here. Mouthfeel is medium bodied, appropriately carbonated, slightly sticky sweet finish. A nice wild ale flavour with a distinct floral character.

 

 

Appearance: Pours a cloudy honey color capped by an inch of foam that fades away while leaving a few shards behind

Smell: Barnyard funk, vinous tones, wheat and a hint of fennel

Taste: Funky and somewhat vinous, up front, with lactic apple and pear tones developing; by mid-palate, the fennel emerges and builds to the finish with a funky, oaky flourish in the aftertaste

Mouthfeel: Medium body with moderate carbonation

Overall: One of those minor miracles of brewing, who would have thought that the addition of fennel to a red wine barrel aged beer would blossom the way this beer has done; hope that it comes back around again

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really like this one. Very creative and well made. Pours a hazy gold with a white head that lasts a reasonable time. Nose is super complex and layered with apples, green pears and herbs, along with all kinds of floral tones and notes. Mouth feel is superb. Perfect carbonation and perfect balance. I could keep drinking this one.

Flavor profile is one you're going to love or hate in my opinion. Sweet apple; sour apple, grass, hay, green peppers, white pepper, herbs, flowers, and on and on. The fruit-herb-green spice tones are just great with almost a licorice tone. This is also a great food beer. I want more.

Thanks to @nmyers462000 for opening this at a recent share. First thing that is apparent is the nose, this beer has a very strong fennel aroma. It's more floral fennel then candy licorice or anise, but if you don't enjoy those flavors the nose may turn you off. I absolutely loved the nose, smelled like fennel and springtime, yep springtime. Also some white wine notes and a small amount of saison esters. The taste was light fennel, like if you chewed on a fresh sprig of fennel, mixed with white grape skins and wild flowers. It has a bit of sharpness to it, but it's not a lacto bomb by any means, just enough of a brightness that dries out the pallette. This was a surprise beer for me and I really enjoyed it, I look forward to trying more from Fonta Flora.