The Ages
Deschutes Brewery

 

 

 

 

Bottle at share. Medium golden pour, small ring of head. Aroma is grapes, barrels, musty. Taste is mildly tart, more fruit notes, bitter at finish, dry.

Bought at Liquor Shed in Casper. Bottled February 26th 2020.

It pours a not quite clear orange gold with about an inch of foam, some lacing.

The smell is fruity, with notes of pear, white wine and oaky aromas, and definite tartness with a hint of Brett.

A really dry tart taste is what I first notice. Pear and white wine follow, with some lemon that is noticeable to me in the finish. That and the dryness. I don't notice any acetic tartness.

Fairly light bodied with lively carbonation.

I've cut back on drinking beers like this because of heartburn but I am indulging today with this pretty darn good Wild Ale. May my stomach forgive me.

Pours a very effervescent honey color with a thumb+ of fast falling beige head. No head retention or lacing

S: Vinegar notes, floral & grassy, some barn yard notes once warm

T: Follows the nose, oaky dryness, plenty of tartness, a touch of mushroom up front, plus a little pear. Dryness, pears, white grapes/wine & oaky notes once this beer is warm. Finishers plenty dry with Chardonay notes, some pear & just a little vinegar & earthy mushroom notes

MF: Medium body, lively carbonation, feel this one clinging to the teeth for sure. Carbonation goes fairly delicate once the initial pour has run its course

True to the style, much dryness/sourness & enough fruityness to keep things under control. Nose could've brought more to the party for sure. A sipper

 

 

500ml bottle into a tulip. Bottled 2/26/20, so 15 months old.

Looks excellent in the glass. Somewhat glassy dull orange/amber body. Small white head persists in good form throughout, leaving a layer of lacing.

Aroma is a little musty, some fruit and white wine.

On tasting, waited for it to warm up. Tart and sour. Quite drying. Fairly mellow. No vinegar notes. A hint of white wine.

Mouth just about medium, finish dry and sour.

Overall, pretty laid back sour, which I appreciate more than the completely mouth puckering beers.

 

Thanks to leftpaw for bringing this out, consumed October 2018. Didn't even know this beer existed before he cracked it.

Pours a mostly orange and amber colored brew. 1/3" white head, I mean, it looks like golden blend to me. Nice. Has a citrus edge to it in the nose. Mostly lemon, but not exclusively. Not getting the otherwise frequently referenced fruitiness of this one.

Taste is more of the lemon sour power with a drying woody mouth feel on the back end. Interesting they made this 8%. Not sure why. Could be a better beer without the alcohol heat. Nice astringent wood, lemon and pear feels to it. Some graininess is perceptible in a minor way. Restrained acidity that is well done.

It didn't quite come off like the commercial tug job (gueuze) pulled at, but for a wild ale, its pretty well done without relying on being extreme other than the alcohol. The barrel had more of a white wine feel to it. I liked it, but at $15/500ml, I dunno if I would buy at that price point.

Picked up a couple of bottles, both dated that they were bottled on 03/23/18 and consumed on 12/13/20.

A: Golden hue with a fizzy, tall head that is quick to release the aroma of the esters in the beer. Retention is moderate, and a ring of lace remains a couple of minutes after pour.

S + T: Fruity esters, a little bit of the barnyard funk, and a pleasant sweetness. The flavor is very similar and the bottle makes reference to pear, which is certainly noted--enough so that there are similarities to some ciders. Quite nice.

M + O: Carbonation provides a sparkling body which dissipates a bit upon a swirl in the mouth so that the finish is not too bubbly. Overall, while others often have a lot more funky aromas and flavors, but this one is a great aroma and flavor.

2020-10-25
500ml capped/waxed bottle served in a pair of SIP Fest 2020 snulips. Dated 3/23/18. No longer remember where I acquired this.

Until the sediment came out, it was a pretty golden color, nice and clear, with a medium to small head that has surprisingly strong retention. Light carbonation. Smell is tart, lemon and oak, very nice.

Taste is similar -- tart lemon, oak, woody tannins, medium bitterness, something really appealing about this.

Mouthfeel is medium, almost fluffy, approximates the mouthfeel I associate with Cantillon. Overall, this is really good.

 

Hazy amber-tan color. Short head that quickly collapsed to a patchy skiff, leaving no lacing. Couldn't see many bubbles rising, but it was a bit too hazy to see much.

Smells of sour funk, with an emphasis on the sour. Some cut lawn grass. Swirling the glass kicked up something from the mint family, some light citrus, a touch of barnyard, and a host of minor scents.

Taste is very tart but and lightly sweet. The funk and sour combine to taste like some unnamed tropical fruit (passion fruit mixed with feijoa?). Some fresh ground peppercorn notes add to the flavor around the middle. The aftertaste is of the tropical fruit turning to a sour funk. A little bitters show up to enhance the fruit.

Foams up quickly but doesn't feel very carbonated. A fuzzy, astringent dry mouth feel shows up after swallowing. It's like getting a pile of tannins only with the aftertaste.

Finally a North American beer that comes close to a Belgian Gueze. The only way to become more authentic would be to collect a culture from a brewery in Pajottenland. The sample I had was bottled almost exactly 2 years ago. I'm curious what is considered the optimum time to spend in the bottle before drinking; i.e. did the brewery cellar it for 20 months and then release it, or is it stale dated.

 

Bottled on 3/23/18, enjoyed 15 months later.

Pours a vibrant golden tan with brilliantly bright foam. I get an aroma with notes of wet hay and macerated cherries lingering on the back end. The palate matches the aroma, funky and nuanced all around. Wonderfully effervescent and deliciously dry, with a gentle tartness that just pops on the end. Yum.

16oz bottle poured into 14oz teku. Poured a cloudy orange-yellow color with about an inch of white head that had quick dissipation and no lacing.

On the opening of the bottle, the aroma was a blast of tartness, some grainy malts, and a touch of wood. After a minute some fruit and spice showed through as well.

Very similar on the tongue, with all those aspects being brighter and bolder: the grains more solid, the spices brighter, the fruit earthier.

The body was light, crisp, sharp, had good carbonation throughout, and had a dry finish.

Drinkability was good. I might not have 2 in a row, but would certainly drink it again.

Overall, a very good brew, worth grabbing if you see a bottle.