The Twelve Brewers of Christmas 3: Wide Street

A new set today from the Midlands funkateers Wide Street Brewing.

I had no idea what to expect from the first one: Sour Rivière, using aged Crystal hops. Aged hops are a lambic thing so maybe it's a take on that? It didn't look like one, though, pouring a wan hazy yellow, like a watered-down witbier. The head fizzed busily at first then faded to nothing. Brettanomyces says hello in the aroma: peach and lychee accompanying a spritzy floral perfume. Per the appearance, it's very light-textured, not suggesting the full 4.8% ABV. The flavour is only slightly tart, with lots of sweet fruit behind it. Nothing so exotic as lychee, though: more heavily diluted orange cordial. A very slight mineral note in the background is the only hint of complexity. This refreshes in the way that lightly soured beers do well. It's not serious about any part of the offer, however. Quaff it, enjoy the juice rush, and move on.

I moved on to Saison Sunday whose label yelled Brett, rye and Saaz at me. Though a big ol' 6% ABV this looks even thinner than the previous, the misty yellow of a kellerbier. It smells more like a lambic too, that combination of funk and spice you get in the rounded-out mature sort. Yum. There's a very nice gummy thickness, running in parallel with a cleansing sparkle, while the flavour brings cantaloupe, pear, oak and white pepper. I would swear this has done time in a wine barrel, but I'm sure the brewer would have mentioned if it had. I love the way that sparkly spicy saison is still discernible beneath the funky Brett costume. This offers a fascinating combination of contrasting flavours and was great fun to sip and explore, but at the end I just wanted another to neck and enjoy without the analysis. I think this is Wide Street's best work yet, and a beer that would garner a lot more attention if it came from Bruges rather than Ballymahon.

What I loved about drinking these two on the same evening is seeing just how varied beer can be, even within the relatively narrow parameters of Wide Street's wild-yeast remit.