Siletz Wooly Bully

Brewed by Siletz Brewing and Public House
Style: Zwickel/Keller/Landbier
Siletz, Oregon USA

This is my first experience with this style so keep that in mind. Beautiful copper color with a nice thick head. It is highly carbonated all the way through. The malty scent is misleading; from the smell I thought it would taste far sweeter than it does. It has just the right amount of hops to balance it out nicely. Holding the beer in my mouth for a few to savor the taste produced a mouthful of foam almost intantly from the carbonation. If this beer has any flaws, it is this. Great beer all around. Yet another example of why I love NW beers.

Unfiltered, shimmering light bronze liquid. Retentive off tan foam. Pure sweet lightly toasted malt aroma which is softly complimented by leather, nuts, solvent, and an earthy hop or two. Full body almost becoming creamy as the lively carbonation concludes on the palate. Underneath the salty flavors are nuts, chewy leathery bitterness, and lots of breadiness. Coarse, fruit laden hops couple with the sweet, bready malt to add substantial depth. Note: Heavily sedimented, which means this is a bit dated. I"d kill to see how delicious this would be if found fresh. Doesn"t seem very bockish to me; rather along the lines of a Vienna/Alt hybrid.

Wow. This is my kind of beer. Appearance is nothing breathtaking: body is a bit cloudy and head fades fast. The aroma is rich malt and the mouthfeel is full. The beer has a considerably large malt presence that fleshes out its frame nicely. The malt is particularly sweet with the faintest hints of wort and berry and alcohol. Reminds me a bit of Augustiner Hell, but with alcohol kick. In my opinion, it is the alcohol that takes it out of the basic Helles or Bavarian Amber Lager category. The truly remarkable thing about this one is not the complexity of the malt (indeed, I find the flavors simple on the whole) but rather the dramatic length of time it takes for the flavors to develop and resolve in your mouth. This is really quite an experience and I have that remarkable trader PsychProf to thank for it.

Bought this in a 22 oz brown bottle . The label has a rather feirce looking Bison on the front..also a guy fishing! says: "A Hearty Malty Lager , Hand-crafted in small batches" WEll I must say this is one terrific looking lager..nice half inch head that stays ..the beer is a bright brown almost glowing with some attractive coudyness. Smell is strong and as expected very malty..nice Taste for me wasnt terrific as I am more a hoppy beer lover..but for something this malty its pretty good Feels ok over the tongue..not too carbonated. This is a good enough fall or spring drink I think..though not a good session beer due to the excessive maltiness.

Rated 3/4/07: For a lager this is rather intense, a lot of good stuff going on with this brew. Intriguing aroma, initially there’s this sour maltiness backed by a light fruitiness. All of that gives way to a delicate floral bouquet, it’s truly remarkable. Vibrant copper color with a light amber tint, small white head and moderate lacing. Lush and clean mouthfeel, this is a sippin’ lager that needs time to be enjoyed. The sourness is mostly lost in the flavor, it’s replaced by a nice mix of light citrus fruits, floral hops, and sweet malts. There is a dash of some mild spice. Very malty indeed, the overall mix of flavors is complex and it melds real well. Wow, this is really interesting.

22 oz bomber. Sort of a spicey ’sweet and sour’ hoppy thing in the malt going on. Perhaps some ginger flavor. It works and is quite tastey although 1 bottle is enough in one setting. I must try this again someetime as it is quite different and very good. All of Siletz brews are quite unique I will hand them that!

The odd thing about this Zwickel/Keller/Landbier is its strong citrus/lemony notes. It’s definitely sourish and that came as quite a surprise given that I was expecting basically an Amber Ale. This has considerable flavor for a lager, and has a strong hop aroma, though lacks much hop flavor (no complaints here). It’s a treat to try an example of this rare style, and I enjoyed immensely, though I suspect this beer is, in actuality, NOT a ZKLandbier.

2003/2004 bomber. Pours a deep burnished copper with some rosy red hues. Decent amount of caramel colored head. Aroma of lightly bitter, juicy hops. Light touch of caramel malt and honey, with some sharp graininess. Great mouthfeel, smooth yet lightly crisp on the finish. Slight touch of metallic flavors, perhaps just an overly sharp hops bite towards the end, but good balance overall. Malt is soft, and creamy almost. Interesting and quite drinkable. Medium body. Mostly clear. Earthy yeastiness on the aftertaste.