Free Will sour program -- thoughts?

Sounds tasty.

 

I had their Kriek Lambic on-tap at the brewery about 6 months ago. Looking back at my notes, I thought it was enjoyable but lacked the complexity often associated with the more traditional fruit lambics. Very light bodied and refreshing. I haven't had any of their other sours. Had a great time at the taproom though and the staff was very friendly.

 

I really enjoyed both blood and guts and pomegranate sour ales from free will. The pomegranate was especially tasty, and I would pick up bottles of that again any time.

 

I did have the rum barrel aged regular COB they did last year, and that was good:
http://www.beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/28091/153777/

 

Me too! I enjoy that one quite a bit. I will have to be honest though, I would need to have them side-by-side to recall to what extent I enjoyed that one versus Brown Beard. My gut is leaning towards me favoring BB.

 

yeah, I'm sure they built on that prior experience.

 

I haven't had much from Free Will's sours, but I've had many of their regular offerings. My favorite is the Citra Pale Ale, which I see fairly regularly on taps. The rest of their stuff I think is just OK. The Mango Wheat seems to be popular with the Blue Moon/Shock Top crowd, but it's not my thing.

 

Free Will consistently puts out solid beer. I don't know if any have been mind blowing, but I've liked them all for what they were, even the key lime. Black Friday was my favorite overall beer from them because apple brandy barrel aged beers are just awesome to me. Ralphius was a little less complex than other BA Russian imperial stouts, but it still tasted excellent. Overall, I never hesitate to try a new beer from them, sour or otherwise.

 

Their sours started out as just okay but they've really hit their stride recently. The lambics are mostly just okay except the peach which I think is quite good. The Big Berliner is decent. The Whīt (pronounced "white" and made with cranberries, not a whit beer of any sort) was the first one I really thought was worth seeking out, though this year's release which came out this past weekend isn't quite as good as last year's (still very good). Many of their recent sours are fantastic though. The Ollie, the Sour Cherry-Powered Rocket, the Cuvée Aigre (not quite as new and just released in bottles this past weekend), and their Sour Pale Ale are all excellent. The Mojito sour was kind of weird but okay and much better than the similar Key Lime Lambic. Blood & Guts came highly recommended to me from a guy I trust on sours, and I enjoyed it but it didn't meet my expectations which were probably unfairly high. The future seems to be incredibly bright for Free Will and sour beer. I think most of the people who say their sours are not good have probably just had the easiest to find and weakest offerings like the Barbara Grape and Key Lime Lambics, and the Kriek.

 

Brown Beard and Cuvee Aigre on the shelves at the Collegeville Wegmans.

 

I actually enjoyed blood and guts!

 

May have to give them another try. Sought out some of their stuff a little more than a year or so ago. Thought much of their moderately priced stuff was mediocre. The beers I liked I thought were over priced for what they were. If their sours have improved I may need to make another visit to the brewery and give them a try.

 

Freewill and overpriced dont belong in the same sentence unless you're getting upcharged at a bottle shop. Brewery prices are spot on IMO.

 

Had the brown beard today, I was definitely impressed. Especially for the price

 

Yes, Brown Beard was exceptional.