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Tommie Sjef Wild Ales

 

this is the one done with wormwood, and also sage, insanely cool beer, a blend of wild ale and saison aged in oak, and there is a ton of wood and funk to this, and these tommie sjef beers continue to be some of my absolute favorites, so little fanfare around them in the states still, blows my mind, as good as any wild and funky beer anywhere, i adored this, drank the whole bottle to my head, would have had more, warms up exceptionally well and is subtle in all the right ways, top tier. the pour is rusty orange and increasingly hazy as i work the bottle down, the three quarters inch of white head lasts pretty much the whole time, and is easily roused, carbonation in suspension is wonderfully lively and excited, the body is medium and the drink is long and complex. aromas of dried green tea and culinary herbs, sage for sure but its well integrated and nondominant. the hops are there and there is some bitterness, but it also has a fresh grassy complexion. its nutty from the grain to me, toasted and biscuity and fuller without being sweet, while the funk is what makes it, bretty and mature, wrapped in oak, with white wine character and some acidity as well, a black pepper saison type ester, really hearty overall, well aged, some green glass skunk happening too, but its flattering like lambic here. the flavor is herbal and interesting, woodsy and sort of autumnal to me, rustic but also dialed, the ferment is epic. this really does have a lambic thing to it with the wood and the wheat and the spontaneous funkiness, its wonderful. the oak is strong in here and plays well with the sturdier grain too. wormwood adds a neat botanical bitterness that teases gin for a second, but also has tea-like properties, and is slightly floral. the sage adds an oily thing that brings up the hop aspect a little bit, and there is a mineral character that is distinctive as well, hints of iodine and chamomile and hash at the end. amazing beer, frothy and alive, funky and old, of the finest quality. spendy as heck, but worth every cent. among my favorites from these guys so far...