Wild Brews for Wild Women

Last night I attended the latest installment of the Tasting Women Series at Sugar Maple. These tasting events are for ladies who want to learn about beer in a Beer Snob Free Zone. This month Janine, one of the bartenders, spoke about spontaneously fermented beers like lambics and gueuzes, which are sour, funky tasting brews. I happen to love them, so I was all about this tasting.

We learned a ton, and I loved that Janine dropped some major science without being dry. She even made diagrams!

Here's the diagram of how you introduce wild yeast into the wort (the pre-beer juice):

See that first step, the Cool Ship? Basically the brewer leaves the wort out in these wide, shallow vats, exposed to wild yeasts and bacteria that come in from the slatted roof. That's right, the cardinal sin of brewing, contamination, is encouraged. So weird. I kinda knew about that step in the process, but what I didn't know was that each barrel has its own little ecosystem growing in it, hence the need for blending, sometimes over and over again to create a consistent final product. That's why these beers can be so expensive, they could take up to years in production.

Anyway, back to the yeast and bacteria. Janine had this diagram about the differences between wild and classic strains:

See how the Brettanomyces yeast is all hippie-looking? That's because he imparts a flavor known in the beer-tasting world as "horse blanket." Yum! I love how this tasting terminology is so gross. Like, Scotch is often referred to as having the taste of wet band-aids. And that's not a bad thing.

Anywho, the tasting was fun. Adrienne, the owner of the bar, put together some awesome cheese and fruit pairnings, and Janine was a great teacher. Here's a list of what we tasted with some short commentary.

O'So Dopplebock (Plover, WI)
Janine couldn't confirm that this was wild, but you could totally taste the Lactic Acid flavor associated with Flemish Sours. Dark color, sour taste with a malty, caramely finish.

New Glarus Berliner Weiss (New Glarus, WI)
This beer is delicious, super crisp and sour, it's brewed with grapes and is very bubbly. Very light and tart.

Lakefront Rosie Kriek (Milwaukee, WI)
I love this beer, apparently it gets its name not from its rosy color, but from the blend of yeast used, which is from the Flemish town of Roeselare. That's where Rodenbach is brewed, and you can totally taste the connection. It's like sour cherries in a glass. Lakefront has really been stepping it up, this beer is a prime example.


Jolly Pumpkin Weizen Bam Saison (Dexter, MI)
Saisons aren't usually wild, but it still works. You get the piney, hoppy flavor at the front end and a sour kick after. It's got the really thick head I associate with Saisons, too.

Cantillon Iris (Brussels, Belgium)
This is a tasty, tasty beer. Pricy enough to be considered a special occasion beer, Iris is very earthy and sour. I always thought it was a gueuze, but I guess technically under Belgian law it isn't because they break a bunch of rules in the brewing process.