Rooting Around¶

Tasted 2018 (year known; exact date not recorded) · isolate: started

Rooting Around, The Wild Beer Co: barrel-aged wild ale with cherry wood and blossom (summer release, from the label).

Impression¶

My first taste of what I perceive as the wild funk, and the beer that started it all. Quite pale and sessionable, with the perfect balance of flavour, funk and very mild acidity. I loved it. Looking back, the beer probably wasn't that great, and wasn't that funky; my palate was perhaps less accustomed to those kinds of flavours and that complexity.

The bugs¶

Bottle-conditioned; the dregs grew and fermented a full batch that came out very close to the original. Later bottles changed for the worse with age, getting darker and more acetic. Under the microscope and on plates: a Brett, a hop-tolerant lacto that took over everything, and a Saccharomyces that was lost along the way. The full story is in the journey.

Decision¶

Isolated (2018 to 2022): WBC Rooting Around - Brett, which I call WBC Brut; banked. Also in the bottle: WBC Rooting Around - Lacto, Lactobacillus Painintheassus, not kept.