The Establishment Brewing Company Erlton Street (Release: 033) – American Wild Ale at 6.6% ABV (C$25.45 at Collective, 750 ml, packaged on 1-Nov-2022, acquired 9-Mar-2023, reviewed 15-Mar-2023)
Appearance: hazy medium gold with one finger of fine ivory head diminishing gradually to a thin cap & ring, moderate soapy sheet lacing. (4/5) Aroma: oak, citrus rind, stone fruit, black pepper, tobacco, earthy funk. (9/10) Taste: moderate-low sweet, moderate tart, low bitter. (9/10) Palate: medium-light body, lively carbonation, dry tart finish. (4/5)
Wow. I mean, they themselves don’t claim it’s a Gueuze – and technically it can’t be, since it doesn’t come from Belgium – but dammit, it’s close. I suppose I should hope so, given that its price point is damn close to that of e.g. Cantillon when and if I can get it locally – and a damn sight more than the six or eight euros the various bottles cost me the time I actually went to Cantillon! Technically this is an American Wild, and it’s a good’un: barrel and funky wild notes galore on a clean tart base, with a bone dry finish. I’d rate this higher if I could, but it just lacks that certain je ne sais quois to push it into that 9+ legendary territory, so it’s just going to have to join Blackbird in a fifteen-way (!) tie for first place from this brewery. (And, holy shit, this brewery is good. I just checked my current stats on them, and for n=35, μ=8 & σ=0.55. Yes, for them, world-class is just an average day at the office. Off the top of my head, the only other brewery I can think of that I’ve rated this high – other than Cantillon, of course – is Russian River, and The Establishment is literally very nearly as good.) (17/20)
This will be my 5,519th unique Untappd check-in.
8.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
