Russian River Watermelon Funk

One of few beers I got to try 3 times at GABF 2007. Served at the 21st Amendment table. Bitter, dry, with a light body but full of flavor. Nice tartness, fruit flavoring and some nice skunkiness. This would be a great summer beer in hot humid Texas. Please bottle this!!!!

Sample at GABF 2007. This was a real treat. Earthy, wet horse blanket yeasty aroma. I’m smelling the tartness, but little watermelon. Flavor has rounds of fruitiness washed over by a serious sour tartness, but not an objectional battery acid at all. Very drinkable to this non-Brett fan.

GABF 2007. Pours a mostly hazy, goldenrod yellow color with a small head of wispy white. Intriguing combination of fresh juicy watermelon combined with some earthy oak and a tight acidity. Light bodied, crisply acidic mouthfeel with a gentle carbonation. Excellent watermelon flavor with a hint of oak. A mild level of funky acidity comes through on the backend, adding complexity and dryness, but staying restrained enough in the background to allow the watermelon flavor to remain at the forefront of the palate. As a sour ale, I would like to see this with more acidity and funk, but as a fruit beer, this rocks. It’s got a great fruit flavor, wonderfully dry finish, and has a level of acidity that keeps it interesting but still makes it possible to enjoy as a sessionable beer.

GABF 2007: Poured a light yellow color. This actually smells and tastes like watermelon. Great sour component. Get the tartness but not crazy funk. I like this beer a good bit. Refreshing with the sourness. It would be amazing if it stunk.

GABF 2007. Hazy yellow in color with a little white head. Malty tart aroma. Fruity notes. Tart malty flavor. Sweet. Finish is fruity dry and nice. Sour. Well balanced. Nice beer.

Date: 10/13/2007
Mode: Draft
Source: Brewfest, GABF

hazy yellow, wispy white head, tart malt aroma with an underlying fruityness, lots of tart flavor, watermellon comes in to add some fruity sweetness for great balance, finishes mostly dry do to the tart

Aroma: 6/10; Appearance: 6/10; Flavor: 7/10; Palate: 6/10; Overall: 13/20
Rating: 3.2/5.0
Drinkability: 7/10
Score: **+/4

Very interesting beer! Aroma of vinegar, wheat, apple cider. Taste has a very pleasing smooth tart and sour note that finishes with a suggestion of freshly cut watermelon. Not at all sweet though. Nice tang in the finish.

Draught samples at Boston’s Belgian Beerfest on 10/27/06.
Moderately hazy body has a color that is just slightly more golden than apple juice. The white head was rather small, fading very quickly to a ring, and leaving little clumps of lace on the sides. Swirl of bubbles initially, but they settle down.
Sour in the nose at first, both from the lacto/pedio and from the wheat. Watermelon is there, but it’s rather marginal. Not that it smells cheap/fake (it’s not) but it seems to get mostly lost amidst the more powerful critter biproducts and heavily dry, somewhat blanding wheat influence. More pedio and lacto acidity than usual, without enough (any) malt to help control it. Some diacetyl from the pediococcus, as usual. Not tremendously strong in the aroma department.
Twangy wheat sourness is joined by the typical Russian River lacto/pedio/brett barrel character. The wine barrel tannins further dry/acidify it and before I even know what I just tasted, any semblance of malt has vanished and I’m left with a ridiculously dry, borderline papery/astringent flavor of pure wild yeasts and just an afterthought of watermelon essence. Very, very, very light body, with noticeable wateriness following some oiliness, and just no real balance. Diacetyl is lightly present on the end.
Don’t get me wrong, the wild yeast character is about as lovely as always, but it’s almost as if there is no base beer. Huge props for experimentation and a unique idea though.