De Proef Flemish Primitive Wild Ale (Surly Bird) - De Proefbrouwerij (bvba Andelot)

rfgetz

New Jersey

3.9/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 3.5

Pours a lightly cloudy gold with big poof of white foam. Scent leads with musty dirt and grain, tart green apple and pear, light citrus. Tast follows suit, apple notes well developed and play with the musty and earthy yeast profile, cleaner citrus and tropical notes on the end with breadyness. Medium bodied, bubbly yet cream, dry. Solid offering, was expecting more from the brett.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2012 14:30:23 | More by rfgetz

MarioM

California

4.66/5  rDev +16.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.75

750 ml poured into RR stemmed glass.

A: Darkish yellow, huge white head with great lacing and carbonation. Large boubbles on the base and small smooth boubbles on top towards the center, and lingering for a while. This foam ain't going nowhears.

S: fruity funkiness with some minor tropical news but not much. Slight brettiness but more fruit and funk than the delicate pineapple character coming hrough. Damn though, hella interesting smelling and super excited at this point. It's almost like a super pungent cheese you can't wait to pop in your mouth and just enjoy and embrace the funk.

T: actually mutch more subtle than I would expect at the beginning. The middle has some good funk and ends with that same funkiness lingering with a good sweetness and malt character. Balance is really pleasant, fruit, Brett funk and bitterness are all spot on, damn hella goodness. I get some tropical fruits but not mutch, just enough to get you interested and make things complicated... Also slight musty and also get that traditional Brett horse blanket funk to the mix, really nice... Oh man, too mutch to mutch to contemplate on a single sitting. This brew has errthing going for it. Funky yet drinkable and balanced, YUM

M: Smooth, light and refreshing at the start then finishes dry and you start to get that booziness which remind you that this aints no traditional far worker saison/farmhouse but more of a drunks/lazy farmers' drank. Which would be my choice of drink. Carbonation is on the medium to high side and very traditional to the style.

O: Overall a must have, must buy when seen brew. There's one left at my local bottle shop and I'm now worris that some one else might go and buy this great brew. Definitely one of my new favorite saisons/farmhouse ales fo sho. A must buy if seen locally.

Serving type: bottle

06-15-2013 05:33:16 | More by MarioM

IPAchris

Pennsylvania

3.25/5  rDev -18.5%

06-15-2013 01:42:12 | More by IPAchris

logicerror

California

3.5/5  rDev -12.3%

06-10-2013 05:17:39 | More by logicerror

djames

Pennsylvania

4.18/5  rDev +4.8%
look: 3.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4.25

Not seeing how this is getting some low reviews. Awesome Saison to me! Great hazy straw-colored appearance. Smell is out-of-this-world good, and the taste... to me is up there with the best in this category. Only slight knock for over carbonation. Something I will definitely come back to though.

Serving type: bottle

05-11-2013 19:11:56 | More by djames

Holland

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.3%

05-09-2013 11:39:58 | More by Holland

dbrauneis

New Jersey

4.05/5  rDev +1.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4

Served on-tap at Lord Hobo in Cambridge, MA

A: Pours a cloudy golden orange in color with some light amounts of visible carbonation near the surface and some golden yellow highlights. The beer has a three finger tall dense foamy light beige head that slowly reduces to a large patch of thin film, some very thin film covering the remainder of the surface of the beer, and a thin ring at the edges of the glass. Moderate amounts of lacing are observed.

S: Moderate aromas of pale malts, fruity yeast, and brett funkiness. Light hints of sourness.

T: Upfront there are light to moderate flavors of pale malts with s strong component of funkiness (not dissimilar to blue cheese). There are lighter notes of light fruit (green apple) yeast and a bit of a briny/salty flavor as well. Quite a bit of funk but very little sourness.

M: On the lighter side of medium bodied with moderate amounts of carbonation. Light hints of alcohol warming in the finish and significant amounts of dryness.

O: This is a pretty unique beer and definitely one that I am glad I found so that I could try it - interesting but not sure that I would get it again.

Serving type: on-tap

05-06-2013 22:59:38 | More by dbrauneis

OtherShoe2

Massachusetts

3.9/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Pours cloudy bright yellow/orange with a big fluffy head and nice lace rings.

Yeasty grain and grainy malt, with some spice and funk. Some musty notes in the nose.

Yeast and grain up front, some white pepper bite, some spice, a little funky rot, some mild bitterness, and any sweetness is more grain than fruit. Mild bitterness at the end.

Medium bodied, good carbonation.

Not bad. I think we have the style wrong here. This feels like a farmhouse brew. Alcohol is so well hidden that the 9% literally kicks you in the ass. You just don't notice it. Drinkable and enjoyable. Not super complex, but enough so that you'll enjoy the whole bottle.

Serving type: bottle

05-04-2013 00:49:34 | More by OtherShoe2

Ogre

Oregon

3.5/5  rDev -12.3%

05-02-2013 01:09:01 | More by Ogre

YobroitsJoe

Maryland

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

04-30-2013 07:47:05 | More by YobroitsJoe

trevorpost

Massachusetts

3.75/5  rDev -6%

04-30-2013 04:51:35 | More by trevorpost

parris

Massachusetts

2.5/5  rDev -37.3%

04-29-2013 23:02:50 | More by parris

bobhits

Kentucky

2.83/5  rDev -29.1%
look: 3.75 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 2.25 | feel: 3.25 | overall: 3

Pours golden cloudy body with a HUGE white head with some staying power. A lot of lace left even in an absurdly dry beer.

Musty with citrus notes, and hop mixed malt finish.

Wild ale is rather open but I hoped for a bit of sour notes, instead I got a lot of musk, funk, hints of citrus, followed by old sitting funk I dunno. It isn't bad, it's actually decent but not for me. There's just not enough bite from the citrus side for me.

Well carbonated but too hard to finish.

I worthy beer but split multiple ways.

Serving type: bottle

04-24-2013 00:29:58 | More by bobhits

SourinQns

New York

2.75/5  rDev -31.1%

04-21-2013 05:36:53 | More by SourinQns

drgonzo2k2

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

04-17-2013 13:47:59 | More by drgonzo2k2

Alfaromeo

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.3%

03-04-2013 23:35:06 | More by Alfaromeo

2GOOFY

California

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

02-28-2013 04:15:29 | More by 2GOOFY

drewone

California

3.25/5  rDev -18.5%

02-26-2013 05:51:09 | More by drewone

UCLABrewN84

California

3.46/5  rDev -13.3%
look: 3.25 | smell: 3.25 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 3.5

Thanks to wethorseblanket for sharing this one at jmgrub's birthday tasting.

Pours a hazy honey orange with a foamy tan head that settles to wisps of film on top of the beer. Small streaks of lace form around the glass on the drink down. Smell is of malt, honey, and some cardboard aromas. Taste is much the same with a Brett flavor on the finish. There is a mild amount of hop bitterness on the palate with each sip. This beer has a lower level of carbonation with a slightly crisp mouthfeel. Overall, this is a pretty good beer that seems to be showing a bit of oxidation compared to the other beers in the series.

Serving type: bottle

02-26-2013 02:59:53 | More by UCLABrewN84

Tucquan

Pennsylvania

4/5  rDev +0.3%

02-15-2013 01:41:46 | More by Tucquan

thecheapies

Pennsylvania

3.99/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Thanks to wittyname for throwing this one my way! Cap reads '2061206'. Not sure what that translates to, or if it even refers to dating code.

Pours an earthy gold color with lots of rising bubbles. The head is nearly immaculate and difficult to navigate around during the pour. A big fluffy and frothy bout of white foam that reached nearly four inches height in my tulip. Holds forever. Looks astounding. Gotta hand it to the Belgians, man; do they know how to make a good-looking brew or what?!

Mild, yet subtly sweet, aromas of apple and hay and brettanomyces. A very benign and enjoyable Belgian pale nose that's missing the strength that this beer supposedly carries (9%). Yeasty with fruit, but not overcasting the light funkiness. Quaint. Nice.

Brett-iness churns like cheese with dry, nutty tones. Fruitiness is much more subdued, as this beer is driven by yeasty critters. Still, some light green apple tannic notes. No sourness detected, however. Alcohol stings a bit, now. Strange flavors of pimento-stuffed green olives/brine intrigue me. Kind of like a semi-dirty martini. Bready nature inflates with pale maltiness, and maybe a wheat addition. Very, very dry; especially in the finish.

Body and carbonation are spot-on, but I don't like the too-obvious booziness. Needs some time to mellow out, and maybe thin out the body just a bit. Although, this can't get much drier.

Happy to have tried this one. A complex BSPA with a unique Brett-y twist. Worthy of a snag if you see it on a shelf near you.

Serving type: bottle

02-12-2013 04:17:27 | More by thecheapies

emilylee

California

4/5  rDev +0.3%

02-06-2013 17:16:27 | More by emilylee

DmanGTR

New York

4.25/5  rDev +6.5%

02-04-2013 13:30:13 | More by DmanGTR

rdickey

New Jersey

4.15/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.25

Appearance: A gentle pour reveals a beautiful clear golden beer, topped with a fluffy white head. A steady stream of fine bubbles continues to rise from the bottom of the glass.

Smell: Enticing – floral notes, a little honey, cut grass and a hint of Brett.

Taste: I’ll admit that it is not quite what I expected, but it’s not an unpleasant surprise. The sweet fruit flavors get run off fairly quickly by the aggressive carbonation, and the beer takes on a bone-dry character that persists to the end. The Brett is quite restrained, and provides more of an interesting accent rather than dominating the flavor profile.

Mouthfeel: The carbonation is definitely high, and although it works I can’t help wondering if dialing it down a notch or two would allow more of the subtleties of the beer to come through.

Drinkability: Notwithstanding my musings about the carbonation level, there’s no doubt that it contributes to a very crisp, clean finish, and with the ABV relatively well hidden, this is a highly drinkable beer.

Serving type: bottle

01-21-2013 01:38:33 | More by rdickey

StaveHooks

Oklahoma

4.14/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.75 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25

750ml capped bottle. Acquired in 2012. No dating on the bottle.
Served in a Duvel tulip

A - Clear golden brass body with 3 fingers of moundy white head. Impressive retention, with speckled lacing throughout.

S - Spicy Belgian yeast, dried bananas, apples, pears, grassy, cloves, pepper, perfumy lemon, hints of earthy musk.

T - Fruity upfront with white peaches, pears, banana, pineapple, and starfruit. Grainy pale malt creates a nice base, earthy black pepper, cloves, dusty grass, herbal notes and lemon come out more as it warms. The finish starts peppery and turns tart. Finishes dry.

M - Moderate carbonation, prickly at first then smooths out. Medium bodied, glides over the palate.

Awesome looking beer! This is pretty balanced beer. All of the components shine without being overtaken. Funk is there but acts as more of an accent. Good carbonation and mouthfeel as well.

Serving type: bottle

01-19-2013 23:07:24 | More by StaveHooks