Feeling Lucky
Wild Mind Ales

Type: 750-ml. bottle
Glass: Karl Strauss 26th anniversary .25L tulip
From: Sam
Price: N/A
Purchased: N/A; Received Nov. 28, 2017
Consumed: Dec. 9, 2017
Reviewed as: American Wild Ale
Misc.: No bottled on date

Thanks, Sam!

Got this as part of a nice haul from Sam. Was told to drink this right away, but I was sick (and still was as I was reviewing this). Didn’t want to wait any longer. Was sharing this with Rachel, although I not sure she will like it as much as me. Description read, “The malty and the tart come together in this blend of a barrel-aged stout and barrel-aged fermented dark sours. The resulting extra dark sour has a light tartness alongside decadent notes of chocolate and cherry.” Was looking forward to it, kind of hoping it would be like Tart of Darkness by The Bruery.

Poured a black color with one finger of fizzy tan head. A few bubbles coming up along the sides of the glass. Very bad watery lacing. Bad retention. (Sight - 2.75)

Smelled a little more stout than sour. Got cocoa, milk chocolate, hints of coffee malts, light bourbon, root beer, black licorice, black cherry, plum, tart mixed berry and black raspberry. (Smell - 4.25)

Taste followed the nose, certainly reminding me of a beer from The Bruery (probably Tart of Darkness). Got still more stout than the sour, but more balanced than the nose. In order got cocoa, black coffee, milk chocolate, anise, molasses, bourbon, root beer, black cherry, raspberry tart, earthy red wine (Rachel says Pinot Noir) and hints of oaky wood. Does not taste 7.5 pct. (Taste - 4.25)

Medium-to-full body. Oily texture. Average carbonation. Astringent finish. (Feel - 4.00)

Was back and forth on a bunch of these (mainly the taste), but this was outstanding. I really liked the stout-to-sour ratio. (Overall - 4.00)

4.09 | 91 | A-

 

i had what they were calling the mocha addition of this, not sure if it always has cocoa nibs and coffee beans, or if i was lucky enough to catch a special version. you rarely see these ingredients in sour beer, especially chocolate, which had me intrigued right from the get go. not as dark as a stout, some chestnut or crimson tones in here too. puckery vinegar aroma, bacterial for sure, heavy lacto, very flanders with cocoa and tart cherry notes, root beer, and the coffee aromatic as well. way more sour than i expected, and seemingly very little wood. a little molasses on the taste, a lot more coffee than chocolate here too, light raspberry and cherry, red wine, the dark notes in the malt are great too, bitter and roasty, and the coffee is super good, aromatic, and lending to the already high acidity. its a little too weird to drink a lot of, but its a cool experiment and one of the more memorable beers of the autumn brew review for me this year. nice to see these guys doing well, this is weirder and cooler than most of the beers that were on at their tap room when i visited this spring. is this an all the time thing with the coffee and cocoa or just a special edition? i cant imagine it without these ingredients now, they seem essential to whats happening here...

Poured from a tap at Wild Mind. This is a blend of barrel aged stout and barrel fermented sours.

Look: Dark opaque, like a very dark purple
Smell: Mixed, with chocolate stout and fruit sour (Nicely mixed)
Taste: Dark fruit sour (cherry) with barrel aged stout at mid palate, dry at the end
Feel: Refreshingly tart with full coverage
Overall: Very tasty, interesting interplay with sour and chocolate