Where the wild beers are

creating clean, crisp, light flavours which could cause no real offence, but no real joy either. Big brewers isolated their yeasts, kept them pure, and used them mainly for converting sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, rather than as a fundamental aspect of the beer’s eventual character.

There has been a bit of a pushback, both from the continuation of Lambic brewing, the wild fermented beers of Belgium which some suspected would die out in our safety driven modern world, and the rise of what is broadly called “the wild beer movement”, brewers using traditional yeast, often wild or semi-wild yeasts which have been spurned by most brewers for many years.

The first offering today is the flagship beer from the Wild Beer Company of Somerset, England. The brewery’s motto is to “Drink Wildly Different Beers” [1] with their signature manoeuvre being a “combination of ancient and new techniques”, usually the use of wild yeasts and barrel aging.

Wild Beer Modus Operandi (7%) is an English Old Ale which has been brewed with wild yeasts (usually brettanomyces) and aged in oak barrels (either red wine or bourbon barrels). Designed to “explore the boundaries of the palate”, the Modus Operandi is a russet brown bottle-conditioned ale with a complex mix of funky yeast, oak, vanilla, bourbon, sour berry, nutty dark malt, plum jam, fig, cherry and tannin notes. It is smooth, rich and very different.

Across the Atlantic in the famous Salt Lake City, Utah, Uinta Brewing Company opened its doors in 1993. The original premises were a renovated mechanic’s garage, a set-up not unlike Wellington’s own ParrotDog Brewery. The Uinta brewery has long been committed to “environmental stewardship” with their logo “Earth, Wind and Beer” reflecting their near total use of wind power and solar energy in the brewery operations.

Uinta Wyld Extra Pale Ale (4%) uses organic barley malt and is moderately hopped in the boil with some late dry hopping adding character. It is a lighter pale ale – certainly by American standards – and weighs in at 19 International Bitterness Units (IBUs). Wyld pours a dark golden colour in the glass with hints of citrus and spice on the nose. The beer contains biscuity malt and a seam of sweetness, before the hops take over with notes of fresh peach and apricot ahead of a clean finish.

While no hopbomb, the beer is has a bit of prickle over the tongue but remains truly sessionable. It makes the “wild beers” list in part because of the name clearly. [2] However, the brewers also claim the experience of drinking this beer “awakens primal desires of all native beer drinkers.” [3]

The true wild beers are of course Lambics – revered and reviled in near equal measure for their often outrageous and unexpected flavours. Those that love Lambics do so with a passion rarely seen outside South American dancing or John Campbell looking in a mirror. Lambic is style that every serious drink aficionado should try but even then it can take a while to acquire a taste for them.

The most excellent Oxford Companion to Beer unsurprisingly has a lengthy chapter on Lambics. It is written by Bill Taylor who, somewhat surprisingly, is the Head Brewer at Lion Nathan in Sydney. Here are the highlights of his entry:

“Lambic is a sour wheat beer style brewed in and around Brussels. By world standards, Lambic brewing is rare and the volume brewed is small. At their best, Lambic beers are among the most interesting, complex drinks ever created. The fermentation technique reflects medieval and even ancient times…

At the very heart of Lambic brewing is a complex fermentation based on locally and naturally occurring wild yeasts and bacteria. Lambic brewing reflects a synergy with nature and ancient learnings passed on over generations. At one time, all beers were made without knowledge of bacteria and pure yeast cultures, and a certain sourness in taste would have been thought of as typical rather than unusual.

Today the Lambic style includes beers that are tart and dry, aged and complex, as well as sugar or syrup sweetened and fruity… Typical Lambic flavours can be challenging on the palate and, if present in excess or out of balance, can cause flavours undesirable to even the most adventurous drinker. Thus, the Lambic brewer walks a fine line between creating a sensory delight and sensory offence.”

Comparatively common Lambic styles include Gueuze (blended old and new Lambic), Faro (low alcohol, sweetened with brown candy sugar) and Fruit (often Kriek which uses cherry or Framboise which includes raspberries). Malthouse has a strong selection of Lambic beers which usually includes 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze, Boon Kriek, Liefmans Cuvee Brut, Liefmans Goudenband, Liefmans Cuvee Brut, Lindemans Cassis, Lindemans Faro, Timmermans Framboise, Timmermans Kriek and Timmermans Strawberry. [4]

Jacques De Keersmaecker, in his 1996 article called The Mysteries of Lambic Beer, wrote:

“Lambic’s future rests with adventurous beer lovers and that small but enthusiastic segment of the population that goes out of its way to sample traditional ethnic foods. Lately this group seems to be expanding as more people pass up processed foods in favour of the old staples: fine cheeses, hearty breads, wines, abbey beers and real ales. Who knows? If the trend continues, Lambic may be around for another 500 years.”

Finally, there are two big events coming up which should be marked in your diaries during the busy run up to Snoopy’s Christmas Day. [5] The first is 22nd November for the Malthouse Summer Session. This is a celebration of sessionable, moderate alcohol beers and the range will be quite extensive.

Clearly I have done something to displease the Malthouse Powers That Be as for a whole week (5th December – 10th December) Malthouse will become Ciderhouse with a ten tap takeover by beer’s apple-y cousin cider. More details to come on both events in future blogs.

Next time we drink to (at the time of writing) Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, now that is one seriously wild dude, eh.

[1] While “Drink Wildly” would probably be too controversial a motto for most breweries, it would make an excellent name for a rock band.

[2] Also the spelling used for Bill and Ted’s most excellent band Wyld Stallyns – the pride of San Dimas, California and ultimate saviours of the entire human race. Apologies for the spoilers there – that was most non-non-non triumphant.

[3] Imbibers are reminded that if their “primal desires” are awakened by this or any other beer, they should keep things seemly or risk getting chased around the bar by Colin the Handsome yet Softly Spoken Scottish Proprietor wielding a broom and calling them “saucy wee middens”.

[4] Drinking this beer will include a complimentary revocation of your Man Card (if owned).

[5] A registered trademark of the Hallmark Corporation since 1983.

Cheers

Neil Miller

Beer Writer

Beer and Brewer Magazine

Cuisine Magazine

Links

Wild Beer Company – http://wildbeerco.com/

Uinta Brewery – http://www.uintabrewing.com

The Oxford Companion to Beer – http://www.bookdepository.com/Oxford-Companion-Beer-Garrett-Oliver/9780195367133

The Mysteries of Lambic Beer – http://lambicandwildale.com/the-mystery-of-lambic-beer/