Wellspring
Block 15 Brewing - Southtown Tap Room

Pours a dark amber with plenty of foam in the Kasteel chalice. Quite lively and spritzy on the tongue. Flavors of warm malt with grainy hot cereal taste. Some dry Brett taste but not yeasty otherwise. A touch of apples. Nose of wet wood.

Dry finish with a modest bit of astringency in the aftertaste. Not actually bitter at all. Pleasant lushly carbonated quaffing brew that would be lovelier in a Belgian beer garden. From the 500 ml bottle purchased at the beer store. Label says "Bottled in March 2020" so it's had a year to age.

 

Bottled March '20 and rated in Jan '21. Bought at the Vancouver New Seasons last week. Light cloudy golden, light head and lacing. You pick up fresh fruit in the aromas and a clean effect - like whats come up is fresh air from the field. Tastes of malt and very light bitterness. Well carbonated and has the feel of a true European beer. Dry taste and pleasant finish. Very nice. Worth seeking out.

A: The beer is hazy amber-orange in color. It poured with a quarter finger high beige head that left a large patch of bubbles in the center of the glass and a narrow collar around the edge.
S: Light to moderate aromas of Belgian yeast are present in the nose along with faint bits of brettanomyces.
T: The taste follows the smell and is mostly dominated by flavors of Belgian yeast and spices along with notes of pale malts and hints of brett funk.
M: It feels light- to medium-bodied and slightly dry on the palate with a moderate amount of carbonation.
O: I'd consider this to be more of a Belgian Pale Ale than a Brett Beer, but the hints of brett in the smell and taste lend some complexity.

Serving type: bottle

 

a belgian pale with brett, real well made beer as is to be expected from these guys, but not nearly as funky or evolved as i wanted it to be, unique as it is. i like the richer specialty malt base, this is anything but generic and samey on the grain side, brassy colored, shiny through most of the bottle, super frothy and heady, and with just a little sweetness and some earthy minerality to it, a nice foundation for sure. there is definitely belgian yeast at work with the brett, a light ester profile of apples and pears, some rock candy crystalline sweetness, and mild orange as well. the brett smells and tastes a bit young to me, really not a whole lot to it here, a little farmy, musty, wet animal, that sort of musk, but its not drying or as outwardly wild as i think i was hoping for. that said, the refinement is awesome and this is really professional beer overall. the hops are moderate to me, as bitter as flavorful, but this is fermentation first, hops later, and thats what i was hoping for on the grand scheme of it. lightly grassy and noble, and cool with the fruit from the belgian strain, soft white pepper and fresh greenness too, nice balance overall. i think i wanted more from the brett here, but i ended up liking the beer a whole lot overall, the quality of the beers ive had from these guys so far has been enormous. this is hearty but drinkable, an interesting take on the style, and sometime i bet will age pretty well as the brett comes on. ill continue to buy all i see from these guys!

Poured from 500mL bottle into a tulip. Bottled March 2019.

Appearance: rich, deep orange hue with a tiny amount of haze and a lot of effervescence. Head is a thick finger of frothy ivory foam; I think this beer is supremely attractive.

Smell: sweet with a rather caramelly and candylike aroma at the base, with little hints of funk and sourness on the sides. This is a nicely complex aroma; I really like it.

Taste: similar to the aroma, with caramel as well as a little funk and tartness, but with a somewhat lighter character that is actually a good juxtaposition to the smell. There's a nice dynamism, with the funk and very slight sourness to the fore, and a finish of milk maid caramels. Good, good beer.

Mouthfeel: medium-light body with a decent carbonation and creaminess; nothing to write home about, but not bad.

Overall: I am really, really enjoying this beer. It's got a lot of interesting stuff going on, but overall is balanced and dynamic as well as complex.

Poured into a Fremont small snifter. Pours a slightly hazy, medium coppery orange with a fine, one finger off-white head with great retention and thick lacing. Aroma of grainy malt, saison yeast, brett, orange and lemon citrus, hay. Flavor is smooth, grainy malt, brett, mild orange, apple; starts slightly sweet and bretty, then dries out while developing stone fruit esters into a moderately dry, bretty finish. Medium bodied with light to moderate creaminess and sharp carbonation, nice mouth feel. Brett forward ales are still a little challenging for me, but I tend to like them if they are not acidically tart; and I like this one. The flavor progression is dramatic and interesting and this was one of the ales that kept me coming back for repeated tastes to try to figure out what was going on. Bright brett character and inviting, changing fruit flavors with some sharp esters in the late taste. Nice rustic character. Not one of my main styles, but I liked this a lot.

500ml bottle purchased from Roth's in West Salem OR.
$5.29
6.75% alc.
Pours a wonderous hazy golden/red with a delectable light beige head..beautiful to look at.
Aroma i can smell with the glass..18 inches away..tart/sour/barnyard/funk.
Taste the same..its sour yet dry..its fruity yet slightly bitter ( especially in the aftetaste)..and funky but controlled and elegant. Excellent.
Mouth feel is very nice its medium bdied but well carbonated so it floats over the tongue..before you know it the glass is empty.
Overall a delicious and affordable luxury beer as always from B15

 

Wellspring It is a beautiful beer. A tad darker than expected, but its amber kissed pale body is a delightful treat. Clean and refreshing looking with promise of full flavor. Above lies a thin khaki foam that leaves spots of love spackled here and there around the glass.

The aroma is very pleasant with spiced red apples, red licorice, wet hair and old bread. The spice elements ate licorice forward, with white pepper and wild flowers following suit.

Much more funk with a dark honey twist show themselves in taste. Lots of Bretty goodness. Lots of bready goodness too. The spices are again present, yet subdued and the predecessors to a delicious tart apple skin and what I can only describe as a mild root beer like finish.

Crisp and clean like a pale, tart and wild like a farmhouse, sweet and spicy like a Saison, slightly bittered, this beer has it all. A wonderfully refreshing beer, almost too easy to drink. Almost.

As with most, if not all of the Abbey Series from Block 15, Wellspring is another winner. Classic flavors, modern touches, seamless in creating a delicious and comforting unique brew.

Cheers.