Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pinhead)
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pinhead)Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pinhead)
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From:
De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
 
Belgium
Style:
Brett Beer
ABV:
9%
Score:
89
Avg:
4.01 | pDev: 12.22%
Reviews:
48
Ratings:
58
Status:
Retired
Rated:
Jan 30, 2017
Added:
Mar 01, 2005
Wants:
  5
Gots:
  2
No description / notes.
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Ratings by czfreeman:
Photo of czfreeman
Reviewed by czfreeman from California

4.5/5  rDev +12.2%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
DRINK DE PROEF!!!
Pours out a gorgeous golden effervescent gold capped by a two finger pillow of white Brett goodness.
Aromas of hay, Brett yeastiness, barnyard, musty wood, "horseblanket" lots of wheaty grassiness, wildflowers, haybales.
flavors of wildflower honeys, hays, yeasts, Brett, spicy white peppers, tons of complex fruity spiciness, pears ou poive.
mouthfeel is effervecently beautifully perfectionism, I can't wait to try Spoon Whacker, next on my De Proef wish list. If you are looking for stellar wild fermentated Belgian ales, drink from the professor himself!
Aug 17, 2008
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.06 by emerge077 from Illinois

Jan 30, 2017
 
Rated: 4 by wethorseblanket from California

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

Jul 05, 2013
 
Rated: 4 by APreacher from California

Apr 12, 2013
 
Rated: 2.75 by drewone from California

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

3.5/5  rDev -12.7%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Thanks to wethorseblanket for sharing this one at jmgrub's birthday tasting.

Pours a hazy honey orange with a foamy bone colored head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small dots and streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, and a slight amount of Brett. Taste is much the same with a slightly sour flavor 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 pretty good beer that is drinkable but fairly mild with the Brett.
Feb 26, 2013
Photo of falloutsnow
Reviewed by falloutsnow from Illinois

3.79/5  rDev -5.5%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
From: Friar Tuck's, Savoy, IL
Date: None on bottle
Glass: New Belgium globe glass

De Proef's Pinhead Primitive Ale is a complex mixture of sweet, savory, and bitter flavors, all from the mixture of Brettanomyces in toffee-colored wort. While to me these are winter beers to me, I could drink it in the spring or fall as well. Though I enjoyed this less than the Surly Bird version (at least how I remember it), it's still a very good beer for those wanting a bit more Brettanomyces presence in their Belgian ales. I wish the series was more widely available, as I'd certainly pick one of these up every so often.

The beer pours a 1cm tall head of off-white bubbles, not particularly dense, made up of medium to large-sized bubbles. Retention is rather poor, fading rather quickly to a thin ring around the glass, and leaves modest lacing in its descent, mostly a few dots and lines scattered haphazardly. Beer's body is a fairly bright orange-red color, hazy from sediment, with light bringing out brighter orange-gold tones. Carbonation is visible, though limited in number and quite sluggish.

Aroma is brettanomyces heavy at first, opening up with some burnt electrical wires or scorched plastic; moving into musty basement, wet hay, slightly gamy, mushroom and white potato scents; but then becoming somewhat sweet, with light brown sugar and fruit esters in the close. Very complex and well done, it's surprising that the combination of these scents aren't off-putting.

Front of palate picks up modest burnt electrical wires or scorched plastic with mild brown sugar or toffee sweetness. Mid-palate finds continued Brettanomyces-influenced burnt electrical wire flavors combined with a surprising savory herbal component (faint bay leaf, rosemary, ginger? reminds me at times of a gruit), basement must, and a base of sweet brown sugar or toffee-like malt. Back of palate finds modest bitterness with Brettanomyces-influenced burnt electrical wiring and wet hay, brown sugar sweetness, and a bit of ethanol. Leaves an aftertaste of fairly bitter, Brettanomyces-influenced must, wet hay, burnt electrical wires, and hops(?).

Beer is medium bodied, with medium-low levels of carbonation, creating a fairly smooth beer, capable of being sipped or drunk more quickly depending on one's mood. It is a bit undercarbonated, though, resulting in a somewhat stagnant feel throughout the drinking session. Closes semi-dry, with mild stickiness lingering across the palate.
Jan 25, 2013
 
Rated: 3.75 by DarthTremens from Pennsylvania

Nov 14, 2012
Photo of donkeyrunner
Reviewed by donkeyrunner from Massachusetts

3.36/5  rDev -16.2%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5
Nearly opaque marigold color with near a fingers width head after pouring. All foam is fizzled out after a few minutes.

Floral spring field in sunshine smell - chamomille and ginger spice in beer lingo I guess. Wet hay and a Bretty sweet tang.

Aroma was the highlight of this beer. Tastes like watered down ginger ale and wet hay.
Jun 26, 2012
 
Rated: 3.5 by jfcaa193 from Canada (QC)

Feb 19, 2012
 
Rated: 4 by Profchaos20 from Pennsylvania

Feb 19, 2012
Photo of Elevator
Reviewed by Elevator from Illinois

2.3/5  rDev -42.6%
look: 3 | smell: 3 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 2
Pour & Aroma: Some floral, dark fruit in there. Musty raisins, plums. No head. Cloudy chocolate-brown color, very non-opaque.

Taste: Mild flavors, nothing stands out. Some watery maltiness. Light hop bite on the back end, touches of planty sweetness, but nothing nearly ringing of the fruits I got in the aroma. Over time and temp no notable improvement. Tastes very musty and flavors are all washed out. Despite 9% ABV not really tasting that alcohol in there at all, goes down relatively smooth.

Verdict: Pretty disappointing. Was hoping for a pleasant surprise despite reviews, but this definitely isn’t one of my favorites. Very very watered down.
Dec 31, 2011
 
Rated: 3.5 by djrn2 from New Jersey

Dec 17, 2011
 
Rated: 4 by Rochefort10nh from New Hampshire

Nov 25, 2011
Photo of Gavage
Reviewed by Gavage from Nevada

4.25/5  rDev +6%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4
Appearance: golden yellow in color with a short 1/2" head that falls quickly. Spots of lace develop during the session.

Smell: lemon zest, yeast, and some grassiness is pleasant on the nose.

Taste: nice malt level with some lemon zest, tart green grapes, earthiness, and a decent bitterness. A bit of sourness arrives late while swallowing. Some alcohol warming in noticeable.

Mouthfeel: medium bodied. Crisp from start to finish. Long aftertaste as the flavors linger in the mouth.

Drinkability: this is a slow sipping beer. More than one or two glasses would be hard to pull off in a session.
Jun 05, 2010
Photo of brownbeer
Reviewed by brownbeer from Missouri

3.91/5  rDev -2.5%
look: 2.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
This bottle had some age on it, at least a year.

I didn't really care for the way this one looked. It had a lot of yeast chunks and it looked like murky cider. Everything else, though, was right on.

Funky yeast nose with a ton of sweet fruits. Pear and peach were most notable with heritage apples.

The taste didn't really have any suprises after the nose, though banana became increasingly apparent after it warmed. Pineapple, peach, pear, basically fresh tropical fruit.

Pretty solid, though not outstanding, funky Belgian.
Mar 10, 2010
Photo of TurdFurgison
Reviewed by TurdFurgison from Ohio

3.29/5  rDev -18%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
This beer has been living in my basement for about 1 year, only now rediscovered by me as I moved some boxes around. 750ml bottle, synthetic cork and authentic cage. On popping the cork, there is a lot of carbonation, and as feared the foam immediately rushes out of the bottle. I was prepared, and opened it near a sink just in case. After pouring into a glass and keeping an eye on the bottle no further mishaps occurred.

The beer is hazy golden color with a huge pillowy head, lots of lacing and floaties. The main aromas are based on brettanomyces, adding new meaning to barnyard traits. Very very funky and "dark" smelling, this may have waited around too long. It's possible this beer is several years old, as I don't know how long it was on the shelf before I bought it. But wild ales and lambics often have aging potential, at least that's what I've thought, so maybe this dark funkiness is just what was intended...

The taste is way complex, earthy and moldy, I guess like an aged cheese. A little pepper-like spiciness in the after-taste, but mostly a lingering bret flavor not too distant from aged Orval.

The body is soft and the carbonation presents more as creaminess than spiciness. Easy drinking if you like the odd flavors.
Mar 08, 2010
Photo of GJ40
Reviewed by GJ40 from North Carolina

3.9/5  rDev -2.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5
Sampled from a 750ml bottle in a chalice.

Golden and very hazy with a moderate white head and chunks of sediment. A slightly sour and funky aroma with fruit; pears in particular. The flavor starts a bit sour and funky but then turns sweet. A moderate consistency with a moderate to high carbonation.

This is a good beer but not especially compelling to me. Maybe I need more time to get to know wild beers more.
Oct 12, 2009
Photo of Mitchster
Reviewed by Mitchster from Michigan

4.06/5  rDev +1.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
$10.49 for a 750ml corked and caged bottle. Pours out to a cloudy pale golden, forming a small white head with poor retention and no lacing. Moderate carbonation, not overly brisk as most Belgians are. The aroma is heavenly. Tart apples, barnyard, sour funk, dusty basement. The mouthfeel is lightly spritzy with a medium dense body, flittery champagne like carbonation and light all around. The taste opens with tart tropical fruits, sour funk, and has a moderately strong herbal hop bitterness. Minimal vinegar funk, and no off flavors. The finish has quite a bit of wheat cracker flavor to it. Kinda like a BSPA fermented with Brett. Not very sweet. I love the combination of sweet and sour in lambics, and this could use a tad more sweetness for me to really enjoy it as much as it smells. Still, a good beer, but probably not worth the price on this side of the pond.
Oct 07, 2009
Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Pinhead) from De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)
Beer rating: 89 out of 100 with 58 ratings