Happy Zwanze Day!

Happy Zwanze Day!  We can't get to any to place remotely nearby that has any of the fine beer from Cantillon, so we decided to celebrate instead not with a Belgian sour, but rather an American sour from the only American brewer invited to the sour beer celebration in Belgium - Allagash Brewing Company. Tonight it's Allagash's FV 13.  This is a sour ale aged for four years in a giant (2700 gallon) oak foudre (or foeder).

1420. Allagash Brewing Company - FV 13 - Poured from bottle into snifter from one of my other favorite American sour producers, New Belgium Brewing. Pours a rich, dark, orange/copper with two finger head. Head dissipates down to maybe 5 mm fairly quickly. Aroma - vinegar, cherry, earthiness, some funk and forest floor. Taste - very earthy and funky - clear brett notes, vinegar, sour apple and cherry, and some sweetness. This really reminds me, on some notes, of Crooked Stave’s offerings in terms of brett-taste. Finish is long and tart and earthy. Carbonation level is appropriate and prickly; mouthfeel is creamy and slightly oily. This is a complex beer with lots of brettanomyces character.  We have one more bottle left and we'll probably let this one age awhile longer to see how it changes.  
      

Awhile back we also had another beer from the Sierra Nevada Beer Camp collaboration, but forgot to record that here.  

1421. Sierra Nevada / New Glarus - Beer Camp - There And Back - This is a traditional english-style bitter.  Poured from bottle into English pint. Pours a rich clear copper with a two finger head. Head pretty quickly dissipates to a thin skim. Aroma - nose is fruity hops with light grass and citrus underneath. There is also some biscuit malt on the nose as well. Taste is a really nice balance of biscuit and hops with less citrus than on the nose. Finish is long and malty, carbonation level is pretty high and prickly.  Didn't get a picture of this, but it's a beer that we wish there was a lot more of around.