Swan Ambic
Feral Brewing Co.

Pours a solidly translucent, vibrant orange colour. Head is white, foamy in look with bubbles sinking it quickly. LAce is decent. Yeah, looks good.

Smells very funky and acidic. Big fruity character with kiwi and orange peel, plus a lovely spice blend at the back - vanilla, nutmeg and clove blending with the organic spice esters produced by the yeast. Genuinely lovely, pleasant nose.

Taste is tart and funky from the get-go, with plenty of barnyard character blending with slightly sharp acidity - hint of green pepper but mostly citric, some stone fruit and a dry cider note. Some of that spice on the back, vinegary, very funky and organic but fresh. Never reaches those heights of lambicus but it bursts with fresh, tart flavour. Very pleasant.

Decent texture, although it does get a bit sharp and bitey towards the back, finishing dry. Decent lambic feel.

Great effort with a tough style. They've managed to make it into a drinkable and refreshing brew.

On-tap at the Local Taphouse in Sydney.

Pours a pleasant cloudy dark apple juice colour, with a slight collar fine white film. Very fine body, that still retains its lightness. Specks of lace form on the glass when tilted. Tiny bubbles of carbonation. Looks good.

Nose is mildly sour, and quite clean. It doesn't have the big oomphy pungency of a gueuze, for example. Some lingering fruit skin characters, and a little fermenting fruit foliage. Interesting faint woody notes as well. Very nice.

Taste is lighter and less acidic than it might have been. Some apple skin characters with a bit of carbonic bite on the front. On the back, there's a strong peach tone and a lingering fragrant sweetness. But it doesn't hit sweet overall. Nor, for that matter, does it have a true biting lambic sourness; it's more like the wild fermentation just gives it a lightness.

Overall, it's a very nice beer. Very different in style to a Belgian lambic, but really emphasising some of the fundamentals about why wild fermentation can be so exciting. Go Feral!

 

A - Pale and cloudy with a small creamy head which fades to streaks of lacing.

S - Vinegar and tart apple cider.

T - Sour underripened white grapes, vinegar, cider, lemon, wild yeast. Very refreshing.

M - Dry, tart, sour, vinuous, just like a good lambic should be.

O - I am far from an authority on lambics but this is certainly of the sour Cantillon type as opposed to the sweet Lindemans type. Feels very authentic. I am told the brewer is getting very interested in spontaneous fermentation and it seems to me that he on the right track.