La Tache - The Ale Apothecary

HuskyinPDX

Washington

4.15/5  rDev -1.2%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Bottle opened on 4.17.13
Batch: Dec 21 2012

A - Pours a hazy light orange with a very active fizzy white head that fades fast.

S - Citrus - lemon, funk, slightly nutty.

T - Tart oakiness, very subtle citrus, buttery wood.

D - Tons of carbonation and very light body.

O - Smells great, but flavors are not quite there. I would let this one age a bit more.

Serving type: bottle

04-19-2013 04:24:35 | More by HuskyinPDX

Thorpe429

Illinois

4.61/5  rDev +9.8%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

Thanks to Dave for sharing this. Bottled December 21, 2012.

Just like the Sahalie, body is light yellow and a bit hazy. Good white head and nice retention. The nose has a bit of faint sulfur and cheese underneath very nice wheat. Behind that there's some lemon and faint spice. Flavor is similar with a bit less acidity than the Sahalie, but same wonderful complexity. Body is very light with mild acidity. Super easy drinking.

Again, just wow. I am really impressed.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 12:34:40 | More by Thorpe429

Huhzubendah

District of Columbia

4.24/5  rDev +1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Batch Nov 09 2012
10.78 alc vol

The beer is light golden with a small, fizzy white head. The aroma offers lemons, wild yeast, grass, funk. Herbal and earthy tones with a delicate sweetness balanced by a light funk. Highly drinkable and really smooth on the palate. This one is a sleeper. Light spice quality. Beautiful balance and so easy to drink. Where is the alcohol presence? Masterfully hidden. A truly fabulous beer.

Serving type: bottle

03-16-2013 02:55:56 | More by Huhzubendah

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.16/5  rDev -1%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

Ale apothecary attaché saison
Bottle at baileys taproom Portland, Oregon, mid feb- 2013

Pours a nice golden color, almost clear...Nice ring of white head.

Champagne yeast shines through with a nice Brett and oak overtone, giving it a light skinned fruit and cream aroma. Lemon zest. Very clean and crisp aroma, inviting. 4.5

The taste follows suit though it adds a huge cereal malt note compared to the nose, and has a nice semi bitter flavor on the back end balanced by some lemon flavor. Not exceptionally balanced, but nice and has a certain warm alcohol blanket on the tongue. Plenty of nice carbonation and medium feel.

Overall a nice beer, apparently brewed in all oak barrels only! Purist stuff in a great beer city. 4.25

Serving type: bottle

03-09-2013 04:06:52 | More by Dreadnaught33

Alieniloquium

Florida

3.71/5  rDev -11.7%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.75

750 mL bottle poured into a snifter.

Appearance - Golden yellow body. Nice white head. Great surface foam and retention.

Smell - Wine barrel is strong. Bready malts. Slightly hoppy. More hoppy than I expected.

Taste - Wine barrel is strong here too, but sweet pale malts and a bready malt character that dominates. Hoppy flavor blends well. Interesting merger of styles.

Mouthfeel - A touch too sweet. Well carbonated.

Overall - Another interesting offering from Ale Apothecary. Similar to Sahalie, maybe less crazy.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 01:54:24 | More by Alieniloquium

harrymel

Washington

4.54/5  rDev +8.1%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Batch 21DEC12
ABV 8.14%

A nice clean lemon yellow with a solid sheet of bone white, super fine foam. Love to watch the solid column of bubbles rising from the center of the glass. Nose carries lemons, tartness, a touch of hay and manure, some hibiscus and some fresh cut grass, as it warms there is a leather and funk. Fucking A. Taste is initially nice and tart - not overly so at all - the tart character is well integrated with a nice earthen bitterness, plenty of lemon flavors, some soil, a bit of mushroom and water cracker. The beer feels light and easy on the palate, maybe a touch undercarbonated or something - although I like the way it feels, I can't help but think it could be better. Another outrageously complex beer from a brewery that reinvigorates my sense of boundaries for what beer is, and can be. Brilliant, artistic, intriguing and layered.

Serving type: bottle

02-22-2013 05:41:05 | More by harrymel

TotallyHosed

Illinois

3.95/5  rDev -6%
look: 4 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Batch 12/14/2012. Thanks to Trystero.

Pours with a huge bright white and very active head. The head dissipates rather quickly, leaving some lacing. The color is a bright, semi-opaque, golden yellow.

The nose has some wild funk, hay and some lemongrass. There is also a sort of candied orange or candied lemon in the nose.

The flavor has some tartness, some funk and a little white wine barrel character. The finish includes some grain notes and very subtle barrel notes.

The feel is light to medium. The brew does coat the mouth very lightly. While the head is active, the feel is very prickly with carbonation.

Overall, this is a very approachable and well crafted wild ale. The tart and funky flavors are relatively light. This combined with a moderate ABV makes this wild ale very drinkable.

Serving type: bottle

02-21-2013 02:37:41 | More by TotallyHosed

Pinknuggets

Vermont

4.28/5  rDev +1.9%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25

I was quite surprised when this showed up in VT and a $28 price tag was daunting but I figured if it really is that hard to get why not give it a shot. It does have quite an elegant bottle especially with no caging on the cork just a string but that made it hard to get out.

Bottle to Ommgang oversized wine glass

A:Golden to bright yellow in color with a thick heavy white head. It is semi translucent and somewhat cloudy with lots of bubbles

S: light somewhat funky smell but not too much as there is more of a lemony to grassy smell. There might be a little bit of hops in there too but the first smell is pretty much all that is pungent though not that funky still is pleasant.

T: The sourness is there but it is not puckering in fact totally the opposite, it is lightly tart but not a strong flavor. What it does have is a lot of lemon flavor, but it is much mild then any lemon I have as the flavor is there without the harshness of the sour/tart flavor of a normal lemon (though I usually like that). The finish is a bit yeasty but still quite enjoyable.

M: Light and very easy to drink there is a nice carbonation that really compliments the flavor and reminds me of champagne like feel. It is rather crisp in the beginning and has a feel that like white wine with a lot more bubbles.

O: I liked this beer but not as much as I wanted it too. It has a lot of good flavors and I like the lemon flavors with the wine/champagne flavors but I feel like this should either be a lot more sour and tart or it should be a lot more funky as there isn't much funk here. Its rare so I appreciate that I got to try it especially all the way out here in VT but idk for the price maybe worth making the decision yourself.

Serving type: bottle

02-03-2013 03:14:54 | More by Pinknuggets

UCLABrewN84

California

3.95/5  rDev -6%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Thanks to Tieman for sharing this one at his tasting.

Batch 8/19/12.

Pours a slightly murky yellow with a fizzy off-white head that settles to nothing. Small dots of lace slowly drip into the remaining beer on the drink down. Smell is slightly sour and tart with some malt, grain, and fruity aromas. Taste is much the same with a fruity and slight wood finish. This beer has a good level of carbonation with a crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a good beer that is tasty and easy to drink.

Serving type: bottle

11-11-2012 08:55:29 | More by UCLABrewN84

TheBungyo

Washington

4.5/5  rDev +7.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

The first thing I noticed when pouring this beer was the blast of funk that kicked my face like Jet Li. Well ... Jet Li if he were homeless and had just stepped in a colossal cow pie. That may sound bad but if you fiend for the funk like I do then you know it aint a bad thing.

This pours the color of a winter beam of sun. Pale yellow anemic sunshine. Carbonation is very active and I have to pour very gently to avoid a head volcano. It settles into a rocky surface, full of peaks and valleys. Lovely.

The nose is full of barnyard funk and once it opens up a bit more and I get a bit of lemon rind, touch of oak, candy and the faintest hint of soap. In a sense, it's sort of simple with the funk being so upfront but there's definite beauty in the simplicity.

Initially the carbonation was furiously paced but after about thirty minutes settled down greatly. It does stay nice and dry throughout though, which I love. I taste citrusy fruits, like lemons, a dash of oak mingled with funkiness that gives the impression of a tart onslaught that never quite arrives. This beer is interesting enough to pair with just about anything I would imagine. It seems bold enough to stand by the side of nearly any dish but not so bold that it would steal the show. Would love to try this with some La Serena cheese (raw sheeps milk cheese).

Great beer. A big thank you to Paul for welcoming my girlfriend and myself into his brewery and taking the time to talk shop with us. We love what you're doing!

Serving type: bottle

10-19-2012 05:47:50 | More by TheBungyo

JohnGalt1

Idaho

4.3/5  rDev +2.4%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Sooo.... I am a little bit hesitant adding a new brew/brewery with this pedigree.

reinheitsgematt and I somehow managed to make our way to Ale Apothecary within about a day or two of our same vacation footprint... And Matt opened a La Tache tonight.

No label. Not a cork and cage, instead a champagne knot in red string. Classy for sure, but a huge PITA for folks tying them... I am impressed with the presentation.

The brew pours clear golden.. short lasting white head... decent
lacing with low profile head... nice.

Nose is not "funky" the way most geeks will expect.. instead, a
wonderful lemony/lactic aroma abounds... I get a lite "citrus"
hoppiness, but I could be imagining things... Cascade?

The flavor pretty much mirrors the nose with a nice oaky presence .... Barrel notes maybe? Viognier? Lactic acidity without ever verging on "acidic" ... lemony and very approachable for folks touching base with "wild" ales. Tart and soooo very drinkable. Digging this one very much.

A great summer session sour... just tart enough to guarantee sips, but makes me want another right away.

I loved my little tour around the "Mountain Brewery" .... Besides the winter snow ;-) I cannot imagine a more perfect place to make a dream come true. Badass... Thanks, Paul!!

3.5/4/4.5/4/4.5

Serving type: bottle

07-30-2012 18:38:20 | More by JohnGalt1