jakeymon
Member
Hola, fellow beer nerds. Got some questions for you.
I've been brewing for eight months or so and enjoying it. Feel like I have my stuff pretty well together - several good batches, even a lager. So I started thinking that I should try something new (to me). I heard somewhere (ahem) that sours and beers with brettanomyces are super hip right now, so I put that on the list.
So because I'm a cautious guy, I figured I'd get a sample of each type to see what's what. So I bought some belgian sours and something 'bottled with brett'.
Okay, so, first. The sour ('Petrus Aged Pale Ale') reminded me of cider, and by reminded me I mean I thought it tasted JUST LIKE CIDER. Which is fine, I get it, whatever. Lawnmower blah blah blah. But that's not why I drink beer though so I crossed it off my list.
Now the puzzle. The brett beer was an Anchorage Brewing Company Galaxy White IPA. It was the only beer with brettonomyces I could find at the store (granted, I went to bev mo, but whatever). Chilled it down. Poured it. Great frothy head, crazy active carbonation. Smelled nice! Er, different, but nice!
Tasted it. First thought was 'wow, this is all over the place.' Second thought was 'wow, okay, uh, hmm.' Handed it to SWMBO. She smelled ('smells pretty good!') and tasted ('oh-- oh-- oh god') and put the glass down. 'This tastes like cat piss,' she said. And, well, yeah. It kinda did. I drank some more but just couldn't quite get there. Okay, by 'couldn't quite get there' I mean it tasted like cat piss. Drained the rest and poured a pint of Guinness from our kegerator (which tasted especially chocolatey and delicious in the aftermath).
So. What am I missing here? With either but especially with the brett beer. Are 'funky!' and 'barnyard!' euphemisms for 'urine!'? I'm joking, kinda, but would love some insight here. Maybe there's a better example of a commercial brett beer out there I can find?
Or is my reaction that of pansy, a light weight, an unworthy beer nerd, a fellow who's just one step away from saying 'hey! Miller really is the champagne of beers!' and maybe I should just keep to kiddy beers and let the adults do their thing?
Thanks in advance for your insight and the inevitable responses pointing to my unworthiness.
I've been brewing for eight months or so and enjoying it. Feel like I have my stuff pretty well together - several good batches, even a lager. So I started thinking that I should try something new (to me). I heard somewhere (ahem) that sours and beers with brettanomyces are super hip right now, so I put that on the list.
So because I'm a cautious guy, I figured I'd get a sample of each type to see what's what. So I bought some belgian sours and something 'bottled with brett'.
Okay, so, first. The sour ('Petrus Aged Pale Ale') reminded me of cider, and by reminded me I mean I thought it tasted JUST LIKE CIDER. Which is fine, I get it, whatever. Lawnmower blah blah blah. But that's not why I drink beer though so I crossed it off my list.
Now the puzzle. The brett beer was an Anchorage Brewing Company Galaxy White IPA. It was the only beer with brettonomyces I could find at the store (granted, I went to bev mo, but whatever). Chilled it down. Poured it. Great frothy head, crazy active carbonation. Smelled nice! Er, different, but nice!
Tasted it. First thought was 'wow, this is all over the place.' Second thought was 'wow, okay, uh, hmm.' Handed it to SWMBO. She smelled ('smells pretty good!') and tasted ('oh-- oh-- oh god') and put the glass down. 'This tastes like cat piss,' she said. And, well, yeah. It kinda did. I drank some more but just couldn't quite get there. Okay, by 'couldn't quite get there' I mean it tasted like cat piss. Drained the rest and poured a pint of Guinness from our kegerator (which tasted especially chocolatey and delicious in the aftermath).
So. What am I missing here? With either but especially with the brett beer. Are 'funky!' and 'barnyard!' euphemisms for 'urine!'? I'm joking, kinda, but would love some insight here. Maybe there's a better example of a commercial brett beer out there I can find?
Or is my reaction that of pansy, a light weight, an unworthy beer nerd, a fellow who's just one step away from saying 'hey! Miller really is the champagne of beers!' and maybe I should just keep to kiddy beers and let the adults do their thing?
Thanks in advance for your insight and the inevitable responses pointing to my unworthiness.