Native Estate
White Rooster Farmhouse Brewery

 

 

this was one of my favorite of the beers we had in here at white rooster, although all of their wild stuff was quite impressive. this is a golden woody sour, fermented with chardonel grapes, its quite complex and delicious, not quite at the lambic level, but some interesting elements at work here. the yeast is great, mature and bretty but also very cleanly acidic, lemon juice kind of pucker to it, mouthwatering and drying and sharp even, but really well refined, and if you dont mind them leaning more sour than funk, this is really good. the grapes are great too, tropical fruity and tannic at the same time, some new tasting oak to me here too, a little champagne character, light kiwi fruit and even guava from the grapes, and really compatible with the wild culture here. lots of clean almost briney character, the grapes there the whole way, minerals and wine and oak and brett all there too, and for how intensely flavored this is, its also delicate in the right places. great carbonation, cool labels, reasonably priced for what it is, all things i like in my wild ale. i was impressed with most of the beers in here, but this was the standout for me!

A: Pale, cloudy, straw color. No head
S: Lemon, lactic, green grape, yogurt, white wine, funky
T: Medium sour, very lactic, yogurt, sweet and tart grape, lemon, hint of wine, oak tannin
M: Light carbonation with light body
O: Very good but would be better if the lactic character wasn't so dominant

 

Pale straw gold, a little hazy. Initial foam fades rapidly, no skim or lace. Looks kind of dull.
Grape, crabapple, minerally aroma of wet dishrag.
Taste is redeeming, there's and interesting interplay of fruit and oak there, tart and fruit forward.
Crabapple, tart apple, white grape. Dry finish with a bare hint of oak. Lacks much funk or complexity.
Despite the still appearance it has some trace effervescence that carries it along.
For $15 I expected a little more complexity from this, though it's not bad.