After reading The Mad Fermentationist's post on phenols and how Brett can eat them to make the beer funkier, I was inspired. This beer was fermented with Wyeast's Abbey Ale yeast and when it fermented out it was super belgiany. Spicy and phenolic. I threw it in my 3 gallon sour carboy, pitched some Yeast Bay's Brussels Brett and the dregs from a Hill Farmstead Anna. I also added some boiled oak cubes to add some more character. I forgot about it in the closet for a few months and bottled it a few weeks ago. I finally cracked a bottle recently.
Appearance: It's a pretty beer. Nice golden color. I didn't clear it or cold crash it so it's maybe not as clear as it could be, but no sweat. There was a nice fluffy white head on it which dissipated in time.
Aroma: Funk. There's a little tartness. Slight fruit, more peach/stonefruit. Funk again, you can tell this is going to be interesting.
Taste: Whoa. If you've had a Hill Farmstead beer you know the taste. Their culture is funky and tart and this beer is the same. Not oak forward as expected, but it definitely did something, you can sense the oak in the background. Quaffable. Dangerously so. No hint of alcohol, just a golden/blonde base with funk and a little tartness. Only negative is it drops off quickly on the back end.
Mouthfeel: Well carbed. Medium-high. It's pretty well carbed to style. Maybe could be higher to be more effervescent.
Overall: I'm unbelievably happy with this beer. The Hill Farmstead dregs dominate and that is a very good thing. You get that characteristic HF funk, slight tart. The only thing is the back end is a little, how do I say this, homebrew-y? You know how some beers can fall off a little and get an odd homebrew taste? It's in this beer for a second, but the funk is very dominant so it's not a huge problem. I'd do this again in a heartbeat.
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