Annex Ale Project is a Calgary brewery that's devoted to good beer and great conversations. They make beer that appeals to beer drinker and big thinkers.
I've tried a few of their beers while I was visiting Calgary last month, including their awesome New Material NE IPA. Today I'm checking out their Affordable Gold Sour Wit ale that's brewed with coriander and oats.. but not with wheat! Aged on fresh orange zest and fermented with Sacch Trois Belgian Yeast.
Appearance: Pours a bright, cloudy golden ale with a very hefty amount of carbonation, there's a bit of your sodaesque fizzing taking place. The head starts off with a finger's worth of snow white head but quickly diminishes to leave behind just some small bubble patches near the side of the glass.
Aroma: Yep, this is definitely a sour ale. The first impression I got was the aroma of crabapple, pear, lemon, a hint of Belgian yeast. The beer is quite tart and I don't really get much of the coriander.. but it's there. The presence of the oats isn't really popping up until once I get past the sourness of the ale, and then it gives off that nice oaty flavour you get with a lot of popular beers you see all the rage lately.
Taste: Not as sour as the aroma led me to believe, which is fine for me because I'm not a big sour fan. The oat flavour is incredibly present in this beer.. it gives off that rich cereal flavour and leaves behind a very light gritty aftertaste at the end. There's notes of coriander, crabapple, lemon, a hint of soap (coriander again?), light bready presence and well.. it's somewhat sour/tart but it's not making face pucker up or anything, it's pretty moderate.
Overall Thoughts: As a mashup, it's definitely an interesting take on both wheatless witbier and sour, I don't find either styles being the dominating factor in this beer, I find they blend quite well. The oats did a good job giving the beer a bit of a rich grain profile to it, and the beer wasn't overly sour nor was it overly coriander/orange flavoured either. A nice easy drinking yet gritty sour ale with a bit of coriander lingering once in a while. 5.6% ABV
No comments:
Post a Comment