Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pig Nun)
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pig Nun)Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pig Nun)
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From:
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
 
Belgium
Style:
Brett Beer
ABV:
9%
Score:
92
Avg:
4.16 | pDev: 8.41%
Reviews:
72
Ratings:
82
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 14, 2015
Added:
Nov 12, 2004
Wants:
  13
Gots:
  0
No description / notes.
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Ratings by bboven:
Photo of bboven
Reviewed by bboven from Texas

4.08/5  rDev -1.9%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Ok, trying to expand my horizons, so this review may not be the most educated, but here goes.

Light gold body, very slight haze. One finger+ of head that stays forever and leaves all kinds of lacing.

Smells strongly of sour cherries, alcohol, and slightly plasticy.

The taste is a comfortably subdued version of the smell, mosty sour maraschino cherries with quite a bit of hot alcohol, certainly acceptable for the style.

Super highly carbonated and extremely drying.

I've had a few in this style, and though it's not my favorite, it is what it is supposed to be. A little crisp and light for cold weather, a little too alcoholic for a hot-weather refresher, this seems to me like a beer drinker's white wine.
Apr 02, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.06 by wethorseblanket from California

Jan 14, 2015
 
Rated: 4.25 by WOLFGANG from South Carolina

Jul 05, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by drewone from California

Feb 26, 2013
Photo of UCLABrewN84
Reviewed by UCLABrewN84 from California

3.95/5  rDev -5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
Thanks to wethorseblanket for sharing this one at jmgrub's birthday tasting.

Pours a hazy honey gold with a foamy bone colored head that settles to an oily film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, wood, and Brett. Taste is much the same with an alcohol kick on the finish. There is a mild amount of Brett bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and definitely the best of the series in my opinion.
Feb 26, 2013
 
Rated: 3.5 by nickfl from Florida

Jan 15, 2012
 
Rated: 4.5 by GreenMountainBoy from Vermont

Dec 18, 2011
 
Rated: 4.25 by uturn from Florida

Dec 01, 2011
 
Rated: 5 by InspectorBob from New Jersey

Dec 01, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by brandoman63 from Illinois

Nov 30, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Nov 14, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by JAHMUR from Connecticut

Nov 14, 2011
Photo of mikesgroove
Reviewed by mikesgroove from South Carolina

4.2/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Rich golden amber with a nice amount of hazziness to it. An enormous head of white foam lifted up to a height of around three inches before settling down to a full inch of white and sticky foam that clung to the glass

The aroma was very solid. Nice light fruit notes, with a very well hidden Brett profile. Light grains and a touch of a fresh grass like hoppiness sneaking in as it warmed up. Light and delicate flavor with a crispness that was very nice. Clean with little in the way of funk showing up here. Light grains and some peach and pear/apple notes that were followed up nicely with the slightest amount of sour flavor, just enough to let you know it was there. Smooth and mellow with a light feel that was well carbonated and easy to drink.
May 27, 2011
Photo of koopa
Reviewed by koopa from New Jersey

3.78/5  rDev -9.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
750ml caged and corked bottle that I've been aging for about a year and a half.

Appearance: Cloudy gold with frosted golden amber center. Minimal off white head that shows minimal retention and some lace.

Smell: Subdued sweet malt, light barnyard funk, and a hint of candi-sugar.

Taste: This is the wrong time to open the bottle. The malt is really starting to come out and shows itself as a light caramel type. The beer has lost its acidity and funk.

Mouthfeel: Slightly undercarbonated.

Drinkability: I'm getting through it but the flavor profile is just a mess right now.

This brew tasted better fresh in 2008 when it was released but I think it might have turned into something better if I would have waited another year and a half.
Jan 24, 2010
Photo of SkeeterHawk
Reviewed by SkeeterHawk from Texas

4.04/5  rDev -2.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4
I picked this beer up in Colorado a year or so ago, and just put it in the fridge tonight, so it has been cellaring at room temp the whole time. This can make or break a beer like this, so let's see what we have here.

Appearance: Pours a slightly cloudy yellow with an orange tint to it. There was a small head after a relatively aggressive pour for a beer like this. The head was visible for about 30 seconds in its original form and then fell to a small ring around the edge of the glass maintained by a small amount of bubbles rising.

Aroma: I get lots of fruit in this beer. I mean LOTS. There are apricots, and tangerines in particular, but also a mild dark cherry aromatic are the first things that I get. I do get some sweet malt and some toasty notes that remind me of British malts. All of this blends together into a dessert-like medley that completely masks the alcohol in the cold beer. I will come back to the aroma after the beer sits a while. After some time, the barnyard comes out more in the aroma, and it starts to get more lemon in it, but otherwise it remains pretty consistent.

Taste: The flavor is much milder than I expected from the aroma. It is remarkably thin and easy drinking for such a high gravity beer. The alcohol makes itself perfectly known in the finish of the flavor with an almost vodka-like warming on the back of the throat that sits there and seems like it has no intention of going anywhere...I thought that alcohol evaporated easily? ;-) The mild carbonation and light body of this beer make it seem a bit boring to the palate. The sour notes definitely give the beer character, but don't really dominate the beer, but instead give a taste of funk that plays with different parts of the palate to keep it interested.

Opinion: Well, this beer isn't bad by any means. It had a rubberized cork that may have leaked the carbonation after this long...bummer! Actually tasting this beer makes me believe that this brewery sells them ready and you probably don't really want to cellar them for very long. Everything I have had from DeProef has been excellent fresh...but I like to let the sours sit for a while. Perhaps not a good idea with this beer. The lack of carbonation, I think, really hurt this beer.
Jan 01, 2010
Photo of sjccmd
Reviewed by sjccmd from Minnesota

4.44/5  rDev +6.7%
look: 4 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
A: poured into a Duvel tulip glass, dull orange with a lively white head that gradually diminishes

S: funky, fruity, and malt nicely balanced together, hints of fine blue cheese

T: milder than the smell, bananas, apples, bread dough, and funk but each sip (as well as smell) brings out different characteristics

M: crisp then creamy with a dry finish...if those could all work together...

D: more balanced than "Demon Fish" but not quite as drinkable as "Signature Ale"...I really enjoyed it, but I am not quite used to beers this funky to be able to drink them as easily with a stomach full of buffalo wings, however, this brewery is getting me hooked on brett
Jan 09, 2009
Photo of rhoadsrage
Reviewed by rhoadsrage from Illinois

4.57/5  rDev +9.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5
(Served in a tulip glass)

A- This beer starts with a fight to get the cork out as the carbonation offers no help. The body is a golden-orange clear with a big snowy white head after a rigorous pour. The carbonation seems to come alive with microbubbles as the beer warms. The head last for a good while and slides down the glass with each sip.

S- This beer has a musty hog farm smell with a Limburger cheese rind quality to it and a sweet fruit quality that increase as the beer warms. There is a nice raw grain silage aroma in the finish. All these flavors are actually quite pleasant and work well together. There is a nice white Balsamic vinegar note that comes through as the beer warms as well.

T- The taste starts with a mellow tartness that leads into a wet woody flavor and a faint cola nut hint. There is some Limburger cheese notes that finish with a faint fruity sweet green flavor. Some interesting pear and corn hints linger with a tartness.

M- This beer has a medium mouthfeel with a creamy texture and a dry finish. There is an increased white wine alcohol heat that comes through as the beer warms.

D- This is a wild ale with some very bold and interesting flavors that I have not come across in other beers. The flavors are bold but work well together. I don't know if age would change it more but it is great to drink now.
Dec 03, 2008
Photo of corey0212
Reviewed by corey0212 from Connecticut

4.05/5  rDev -2.6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Pours a honey color, nice fluffy white head fades very slowly, and leaves behind big sheets of lacing....lots of sediment in the bottom of the glass, and some floaties floating floatily. Very powerful nose on this...earthy, peppery, lemony tartness. Taste follows along, but with a pretty pronounced sweetness, almost like a spice cake, or something, plus some sour green apple....very different, and very delicious. Tiny active bubbles, drying mouthfeel, very tart. This is quite nice, and something I'd have again.
Aug 31, 2008
Photo of RedDiamond
Reviewed by RedDiamond from Oregon

4.42/5  rDev +6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5
This entire beer is a journey through exotic taste sensations. But the aroma in particular travels far. It begins with a brightly tart, cidery fragrance with "eau de masking tape" and continues with smells of breadstick, apple and pear slices, and goats' milk. The taste is dry and fruity with notes of sweat sock, fenugreek, sponge cake, and vanilla. Curious and appealing.

Mild mannered overall, but with vigorous carbonation. Just be sure to pour slowly as the last third of the bottle will drop serious yeast gobs in your glass.
Jul 03, 2008
Photo of tempest
Reviewed by tempest from New York

4.4/5  rDev +5.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 5
Shared a bottle out of a case from Shangy's

Really?! This is 9 percent? It was so smooth and delicate, I'd assumed it was a mere 5% or something in that neighborhood. This seems to straddle the line between Flemish Red and Belgian Blonde. The aroma especially is incredibly funky and reminiscent of Rodenbach. The Primitive Ale, however, has much lighter flavors than traditional sour beers. The complex wet-hay, horse-blanket, barnyard flavors are still there, but they don't smack your palate and actually finishes in a nice balance with the malt. And that's another thing - you can actually taste the malt for is subtle biscuit and bready flavors - delicious.

So yes, I'm a fan. This beer is a sipper for all the crazy flavors, but it's still incredibly drinkable. A must-try for anyone that digs funky Belgians.
May 31, 2008
Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pig Nun) from De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
Beer rating: 92 out of 100 with 82 ratings