Wild Beer Co: Witness (England: Belgian Ale: 5.8% ABV)
Visual: Bright clear apricot gold. Small white bubbled head.
Nose: Pepper. Funky yeast. Cheese puffs. Cellars. Apricot.
Body: Moderate bitterness and funky yeast. Pepper. Bready. Slight sour notes.
Finish: Cheese puffs. Pepper and crackers. Charring. Dry bitterness. Breathing in the air of an active farmyard.
Conclusion: Well, I do have to say I respect how well this manages to call to the yeast usage of Orval – it really manages to emulate that funky yet dry and drinkable character very well. It has a lot of pepper notes and a slight cheese puff characteristic that screams the Belgian influence. It is very much designed for a balanced, slightly sour note touched beer against a growing dry bitterness that refreshes, and yet still lets the bitterness kick. Drinkable, yet lively.
It all sounds really good doesn’t it? Problem is that while they have the wonderful base they don’t actually go anywhere with it. It just feels lacking in the middle, just letting those first impressions continue on until it is time to end it in the finish.
It really needs to do something the the center so there is some feeling of progression – some burst to split the start from the finish. Maybe some time letting the brett in the bottle do its work will tighten up the whole package, but right now it is a very drinkable feel matched to a very one note beer.
So much of the journey is done right, so I am hoping they don’t give up on this one – the hard part seems to have been done – getting that feel and balance of texture right. Now they just need to add the metaphorical spice to make it work. Right now I can’t recommend it but it has promise.
So. Wild Beer Co, please work on this one – right now it is a touch dull in taste, but it really feels like it can be used to make something so much better.
Conclusion: As a huge fan of Mad Max: Fury Road I may have declared “Witness me!” As I poured this, ascending to Valhalla all shiny and chrome. I was kind of hoping it would be average so I could boom “MEDIOCRE” in the review. Then forgot to do so. Anyway, I only kind of hoped that, more wanted it to be a good beer as it sounded like a very drinkable beer indeed if it works out. Basically a pale ale made with brett, inspired by the trappist beer Orval. Ok, they didn’t mention Orval by name but that is blatantly the one they are referencing. Drunk while listening to some more Akala. Really been loving his work for a few months now. grabbed from Independent Spirit.
