Perfect Red King
Wunderkammer Bier

Acquired a 500 ml bottle after volunteering at the Eighth State Altered States festival on 7-27-24. Brewed September 2021, bottled July 2022. Reviewed 8-14-25. I poured this brew a good chunk of my shift and there was a handful of people that were so happy to see this being poured.

Beer poured deep gold with a beautiful white head that has some great hang time.

Nose is a nice blend of funky citrus.

Taste is a very light wheat malt base indoctrinated nicely with wild yeast. Flavor is funky lemon sweet tarts and finishes a refreshing lemon pucker. Sumac imparts the lemon flavor in conjunction with the yeast.

Mouthfeel is light and beautifully refreshing on a typical WNC summer day that is mid 80's temp wise and low 60's humidity wise.

Overall a delight to drink, well done by the brewer!

 

always an absolute treat to drink beer from these guys, something i look for every single time i am in vermont, and i was delighted to find this one, a mixed culture table type saison done with sumac, a cool ingredient to feature, uncommon to say the least. pretty pour, just a faint redness to it perhaps from the sumac, but rather unassuming looking aside from the gorgeous bottle conditioned head, two inches high, airy and pure white, lace in its wake. there is a tiny bit of micro sediment on the bottom here, but we rouse it and pour it right into the rest of it. the nose here is awesome, some almost medicinal tang from the sumac, floral notes, red berries, currants, red kool aid powder, some really hearty organic seeming wheat underneath, and a familiar mix of bretty funk and young bacterial twang, not super sour to my senses, some neutralizing oak, a vinous note, really dry to me too. the flavor is all of this, the sumac is subtle at first but as my palate gets used to the rest of the beer this element comes out more, expands with temperature too. its bright and tangy at the same time, pie cherry, cranberry, and not quite raspberry notes to the sumac, i keep wanting it to be more robust but then each sip its the subtleties of it that fire me up, this is really evolved and the sumac is incredibly well integrated. the grain base of this also needs mentioned, its not just commodity pale wheat, its something distinctive to me, could be mash technique bringing out its best but its probably both, and the dry but substantial core of this really stands out, its foundational to why the rest of this works so well, even if its hard to define explicitly. epic carbonation, nice mature yeasty funk to this, rustic in that way, and tangy from bacteria and sumac together without being too acidic to drink. truly fantastic stuff once again from wunderkammer, i wish i had better access to their work, some of the more unique and terroir driven beers in happening anywhere right now. this was next level with some funky pickled vegetables and fresh oysters!

500 ml. bottle
Brewed Sept. 2021
Bottled July 2022

Moderate pour yields a one inch white head over a slightly hazy amber body with sticky lacing.

Nose of sumac (lemon, berry), earthy hops, and oak.

Flavors of earthiness, like dried leaves, and lemon/berry from the sumac, with a finish of oaky (?) dryness.

Mouthfeel is near perfect, as always, from Vasili.

Another very interesting and delicious offering from Albany, VT.
Cheers!!!

 

 

Sumac in aroma, and in the sour blond admixture. Very tart but still good. Mondiale 2023 bottle pour. Good sample above average beer. Very different.

Appearance: Pours a slightly hazy golden color with a two finger head; good retention; strands of lacing

Smell: The fruity/lemony scent of sumac bursts forward; tart, acetic and funky

Taste: The tart aspect jumps to the forefront of the palate with the sweeter lemony side of the sumac jostling to gain prominence; oaky and drying, in the middle, with an acetic finish

Mouthfeel: Light to medium body with moderate carbonation; puckery

Overall: Lucky to see a few Wunderkammer bottles hit North Carolina recently; one of the more interesting breweries out there