It’s a special kind of beer event where you hear unique heralds of praise such as “this one has a more fungus quality than last year’s batch” or “this tastes like bird poop and cat piss.” But, to some, these are desired flavors in the world’s most complex category of beers; wild/sour ales. And these were just the endearing qualities that dozens of lacto-lovers came together to celebrate this past weekend at Brooklyn’s second annual Where the Wild Beers Are, a communal gathering of spontaneously fermented beer lovers. So hold on to your tasting cups boys and girls, because what follows are some serious rare and delicious beers cultivated from some of the city’s finest private cellers.

“This isn’t your typical beer festival, it’s a collaborative effort where fans of the funk and bacti-curious people come together to share and celebrate the often rare and certainly unconventional wild and sour ales. These beers have been produced for hundreds of years; but after shriveling to near extinction in the age of pure yeast cultures, they are on the rebound due to artisan brewers and enthusiast imbibers like you.”

Held in the courtyard of Park Slope’s Mission Dolores, wild beer lovers from the tri-state area (and a few visiting from Minnesota) braved the onset of winter to share their passion for the funkiest of brews. The only cost of entry to this event was a bottle (or three) of sour or wild beers to donate to the party. In exchange, guests received a certain amount of “pours” from the other communal bottles. Armed with 20 pours a piece – thanks to our Captain Lawrence, Ommegang and Monk’s offerings – Lindsay and I set out for what quickly became an afternoon of serious palate abuse.

Standouts were present on every table but one of my favorites was the ultra-rare Cantillon Zwanze 2009 with its notes of straw, rotting lemons and musky herbs. While that may sound a miss to those unfamiliar with the style, the result was incredibly balanced and drinkable. Also notable was the overlooked Brouwerij Timmermans-John Martin Bourgogne Des Flandres which married a murky, malty cherry quality with a very light finish and more reduced sour character. The result was an easy drinking version of the flanders style. But, by far, my favorite of the afternoon was the New Glarus Enigma. This is one of the most complex and intriguing beers I’ve ever tried… a potpourri of smokey malt, aged tart cherry notes, hints of maple syrup and an underlying layer of oak. If you like your beers to push limits then hunt this one down (and send me a bottle!)

Other opportunities at the Where the Wild Beers Are event included tasting a three year vertical of Ithica Brute as well as two year verticals of both Panel Barrique (both were very “poop-like” to me) and Captain Lawrence Cuvee de Castleton. There were also horizontals from New Glarus (including the rare R&D) and Jolly Pumpkin (including the new Biere de Goord) which made for great crash courses in these revered mid-west breweries.

Where the Wild Beers Are was definitely one of the more unque and exciting beer events I’ve attended this year. For those of you worn out on massive festivals with mini-pours of flagship brews, I urge you to seek out events like this that bring the community of beer-drinkers – and the beers they love – to the forefront. Where the Wild Beers are is held annually in Minnesota and Brooklyn so if you missed this years then definitely get on the list and keep an eye out for the 2011 edition.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW MORE PHOTOS FROM WHERE THE WILD BEERS ARE ON FLICKR

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Style: Wild Ale, Barrel Aged Brown Ale
Brewery: Captain Lawrence (Pleasentville, NY)
ABV: 7.5%
IBUs: unknown
Availability: single brew, limited release

Appearance: The Barrel Select pours a hazy, amber brown with aggressive carbonation and ecru head. The pour leaves slight lacing on the glass that fades away quickly.

Smell: The nose here is a blast of sour cherry that almost overpowers the other scents. As I get accustomed to aroma, notes of chocolate and oak come forward along with the traditional hints of wild yeast (barnyard funk, horse blanket, etc.)

Taste: There is quite a blast of acidic bitterness here as the Barrel Select leads with a puckeroushly sour hit of unripened cherries, tart green grapes and – in a throwback to my childhood (or last trip to the movie theatre) – Sour Patch Kids. Once you dig through the sea of sour, you get more flavors of Hershey’s chocolate bar mixed with lactic acid and a bit of musty malt. There’s also a hint of astringent tannins and oak notes but they are bonded well with the acidic overtones and don’t really stand out on their own.

Mouthfeel: The mouthfeel is pretty straightforward for a bottle aged brew… fine carbonation, medium body and a nice, dry finish from the barrel aging.

Drinkability: While the mouthfeel and finish are easy on the pallet, this is an abundantly sour beer that may be overwhelming for some people. For such a complicated, blended brew, the flavor is surprisingly straightforward which may keep you from reaching for another glass. Splitting (and sipping) the bottle amongst two people, however, should fair quite well.

Overall: The Captain Lawrence Barrel Aged Select #1 is another milestone for the brewery. It’s incredibly tart and and unlike any of their other offerings. While it was a bit over-acidic for my taste – which is a rarity so non-sour beer drinkers be warned – but it would pair really nicely with a farmhouse cheese and it is a great non-traditional brew to help open people’s eyes to the potential of beer. People who like Flemish sours such as a Rodenbach should take notice and seek this one out.

Always pushing the limits of Belgian inspired American beers, Portland, Maine’s Allagash brewery have developed their very own Koelschip for creating spontaneously fermented beers similar to the lambic style. While sour beers utilizing wild yeasts such as Brettanomyces have been popping up all over, all of the American versions of these are brewed using cultivated yeast strains. That is, until now.

The new Koelschip – aka a very large open air room with a steel tank and wooden ceiling (see photo above) – will change all that. For a few months out of the year, the weather by the Allagash brewery will be just right for cultivating “good” wild bacteria which accumulate on the ceiling and then fall into the beer tank. The beer is then pumped back indoors for fermenting and later aged in barrels.

Check out the awesome video below and keep an eye out for the first batch (no release date announced). In the interim, grab a glass of Allagash’s amazing Interlude which is a sour Belgian that was “accidentally” infected with local yeast and started this whole adventure. More photo’s here.


UPDATE: Beernews.org reports that this beer will make its wordwide debut tomorrow, December 16th in Philadelphia:

So when does the beer make its U.S. debut? Tomorrow night according to Felicia D’Ambrosio of the Philadelphia City Paper: “Rob Tod, owner of Allagash Brewing in Portland, Maine, will visit Philadelphia to make the U.S. debut of the first-ever American spontaneously fermented lambic in a Tria Fermentation School class on Thursday, Dec. 17. Hyped lambic-heads have already sold the class out, a testament to Philadelphia’s devotion to the rarest and weirdest of all artisanal beer styles.”