Brewers' Reserve Skookumchuck Wild Ale
OakShire Brewing (Willamette Brewery)
Sample Date
Jul30
2012
Bottle Number
267
Brewed In
Eugene
Oregon
ABV
7.7%
Season
Special
IBU
?
Tasting Notes
"EWEB 100"? From Oakshire's website:
Fresh from the banks of the McKenzie River came a collaboration as pure as the water itself. In 2011, Oakshire crafted three Centennial Reserve beers in recognition of the Eugene Water & Electric Board’s first century of service to Eugene: Green Power Pale Ale, LandTrust Lager, and Skookumchuck Wild Ale.
Our mutual appreciation for exceptional water and local community inspired us to help provide for the next hundred years of pure water -- which is why all Oakshire profits were donated to the Berggren Demonstration Farm. So raise your glass to the next 100 years of clean drinking water and to those who protect its purity.
I've kayaked on the McKenzie River before, and camped along it's banks. It is a lush, beautiful place resplendent with hot springs and waterfalls, and I'm thrilled that Oakshire is committed to helping keep it a beautiful, pristine, and magical place. Thanks for that.
Okay, on to the beer now...
A blend of 5 wine barrels, 2 housing Le Ferme on Apricots and La Folie yeast, 2 housing Collaborative Evil 09 on Drie Fonteinen yeast, and 1 housing Oakshire Wheat on Lacto.
Err... I'm not really the kind of guy that can identify different strains of Belgian yeast, but good to know, I guess.
This beer poured a golden-yellow color and smelled winey and oaky. A hint of funk. Taste is very lightly sour (maybe I have to use the term "lightly sour" for everything that isn't a Cascade sour) -- very drinkable. Sweet and tart at the same time. Nice notes of oak. Very smooth and mellow for a sour, with some very well-balanced sour brett in the mix. Dry finish.
Really, really good, bordering on "fan-fucking-tastic". I wish this wasn't a "once only" brewing, or I'd had the foresight to cellar a bottle. Cheers all around.
OakShire Skookumchuck
2012-07-30
Oregon Beer Project
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
