A Wide range

Ireland's Brett-specialist brewery has kept the new releases coming. Today I'm giving them a post of their own.

Wide Street's second can release was Brett Grisette with Hallertau Blanc. There's some strange alchemy at work in the aroma here. On opening, it smells distressingly agricultural -- silage, heading for muck spreading -- but I let it sit as I was finishing the review of my previous beer and noticed the aroma had changed to the succulent white grape I associate with Hallertau Blanc. Going in for a big sniff I got elements of both, plus a lemon-and-lime sourness. The hops take first position in the flavour, grape indeed, turning sweet and concentrated, like eating too many raisins. I'm not keen on what's behind that, finding it sharp and bleachy. I think this is that citrus essence effect I found in the aroma, again concentrated, this time until it becomes floor cleaner. It's dry, but I don't get what else the Brett might have done to it. Perhaps this one, more than the last, needs some ageing to be its best. While it's fresh I can't guarantee you'll be thrilled by it.

Still Voices is a light one at 4.2% ABV, created for a local film festival. The details of the mixed fermentation are missing from the can, but the hops are there: a promising mix of El Dorado and Amarillo. It's a pale yellow colour with no head after a few seconds. Though Brett isn't mentioned there's no mistaking the huge farmyard funk riding right up front in the aroma. Spritzy, zesty sherbet sparkles behind it. Unsurprisingly it's quite flat, the sherbet sensation becoming a kind of Berocca effervesence. There's a strange mix of tartness and much sweeter notes: juicy mandarin and sugary vanilla. The funk returns in the finish with a herbal bathsalts accompaniment, adding a beautiful complexity. I really enjoyed the variety of flavours here but found it a little on the thin side: no doubt a deliberate pitch at sessionability.

I missed its subtlety when I came to the Brett Pale Ale: Azacca & Idaho 7. This is massively funky, and quite harsh with it: a mix of toilet cleaner and uncleaned toilet, to begin with. In with the intense Brett-ness there's a sharply citric acidity from the hops, lime skin and grapfruit predominantly, with a backing of green onion. The peach and cantaloupe qualities of the Brett try to soften this but don't succeed. I think it has been over-hopped, and the hops end up fighting with the funk instead of complementing it. It's certainly an intensely flavourful chap, so your mileage with it may vary. Not for me though.

I think that brings me to an even 50% positive on Wide Street offerings so far. Despite this I still think it's an incredibly worthwhile project and love the boldness of the beers, even if the flavours don't always come together for me. I can't wait to find out what comes next.