(512) Wild Bear - (512) Brewing Company

dcloeren

Texas

3.58/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a murky brown with a finger white soapy head. Made its way to a ring of film pretty quick.

The aroma has nice notes of cinnamon, dark fruits and a little bit of funk.

Tastes like a funky rootbeer. Definitely more dark fruit forward with some subtle spice. THe funkiness is a nice touch. Definitely not world class but this is a solid wild ale for sure.

Medium bodied with a good amount of carbonation. Not enough to really sting the tongue but enough to bubble up like pop rocks and pepsi with each sip.

Overal, this was a solid offering from 512 and I like where they are going with it. I would have liked to see some more sour/tart notes but this was still a very nice drinking beer. Definitely worth a shot

Serving type: bottle

01-12-2012 04:04:34 | More by dcloeren

JAHMUR

Connecticut

4/5  rDev +4.7%

05-15-2013 01:08:25 | More by JAHMUR

DaveHack

Pennsylvania

2.75/5  rDev -28%

03-17-2013 14:46:05 | More by DaveHack

djrn2

New Jersey

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%

03-16-2013 22:17:05 | More by djrn2

acurtis

New Jersey

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%

03-16-2013 22:15:10 | More by acurtis

Shilt

Virginia

4.5/5  rDev +17.8%

03-04-2013 22:53:25 | More by Shilt

drummermattie02

Texas

4.48/5  rDev +17.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

Shared with some friends, bottle ? (knife etching in the wax was marred) out of 396.

Pours a murky brown with a half-finger white head that quickly subsides to a tight ring around the glass. Awesome label.

Aroma is great - cherries, oak and a pleasant tartness, maybe balsamic. Almost reminds of an oud bruin and set the bar very high.

Relative to the aroma, the taste is a disappointment. Absolutely though, the taste is pretty good. A somewhat-shocking lack of tartness/acidity, but still pleasant. Leather is present in the taste but not noticed in aroma, a bit of fruit in the finish, and more malt body than I was expecting. Very soft lactic (spit-thickening?) feel, carbonation is just right.

Overall a good beer, although the taste/aroma disagreement re: acidity/tartness was kind of a surprise. I would have preferred it to be more sour, but that may develop over time. Great effort from (512) - strongly suggest seeking this out if you are able.

Edit: had a third bottle recently, and this beer is starting to come into its own. Really didn't know what to expect after the first bottle a long time ago, but happy to see that a truly solid sour brown has developed.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2013 16:58:52 | More by drummermattie02

kevinscott

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%

02-12-2013 18:21:24 | More by kevinscott

djmichaelk

Florida

4/5  rDev +4.7%

01-31-2013 02:14:38 | More by djmichaelk

GreatBloomer

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%

01-27-2013 20:27:19 | More by GreatBloomer

ckeegan04

Texas

4.25/5  rDev +11.3%

12-24-2012 22:08:29 | More by ckeegan04

pmarlowe

California

3.5/5  rDev -8.4%

11-19-2012 03:58:56 | More by pmarlowe

GRG1313

California

4.03/5  rDev +5.5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Pours a cloudy cranberry red with brown tones and a short white head.

The aroma has nice notes of citric plum, dark fruits, nice acid and a mild funky character.
A solid fruity character but no enough to make it soda pop like. A nice "wile ale/sour 101." This would be a great beer to bridge a person in to sours and wild ales.

Medium bodied with light carbonation and a light, but decent, acidic character. Not as sour as a "sour fan" would want but a very nice balanced brew.

Flavor profile was very "berry" and pleasant. Easy to drink but you knew you were drinking a wild ale and a "light" sour. Hints of apple vinegar but not sufficiently high as to detract.

Finish was light berry funk.

All in all a pleasant drink and a nice introduction to the brewery where we found ourselves for the 512 4th Anniversary party after a weekend of doing Austin's "thirteen best" BBQ joints!
I'm now a fan of 512. And, just to note, Austin is perhaps the friendliest and nicest city in the world - for real.

Serving type: cask

10-29-2012 16:38:38 | More by GRG1313

DCon

Missouri

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%

09-12-2012 05:13:29 | More by DCon

bsuedekum

Missouri

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%

09-12-2012 01:58:24 | More by bsuedekum

CommonRider

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%

09-11-2012 20:17:35 | More by CommonRider

t0rin0

California

4/5  rDev +4.7%

08-10-2012 00:55:44 | More by t0rin0

Holland

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -14.9%

07-23-2012 01:36:30 | More by Holland

Strelnikov

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +17.8%

05-06-2012 06:41:09 | More by Strelnikov

texasclimber

Texas

4/5  rDev +4.7%

04-23-2012 18:22:39 | More by texasclimber

wagenvolks

Texas

4/5  rDev +4.7%

03-05-2012 23:40:48 | More by wagenvolks

notalumberjack

Texas

3.75/5  rDev -1.8%

02-25-2012 22:10:51 | More by notalumberjack

wsnich

Texas

4/5  rDev +4.7%

02-25-2012 02:12:56 | More by wsnich

UTCengOwl

Texas

4/5  rDev +4.7%

12-23-2011 01:18:23 | More by UTCengOwl

womencantsail

California

3.58/5  rDev -6.3%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Thanks for sharing this, Bobby.

Pours a brownish/amber color with a tan head. Smells slightly vinegary, as I sort of expected. Sweet bread and toffee malts are there. Some hints of dark fruit and a bit of oak/barrel aroma. The flavor has a nice tartness with notes of vinegar and cherries. A few other dark fruit notes in there as well as the sweetness of toffee malt. Not an overly impressive beer, but in no way bad or offensive.

Serving type: bottle

12-12-2011 16:05:02 | More by womencantsail