In a funk

"Farmhouse pilsner"? Is that a thing? Isn't pilsner intrinsically industrial? Anyway, here's Mill Pils from Wide Street. A lager with wild notions. I hoofed it vertically into a half litre glass but got very little head for my efforts, so instant pils points off there. The aroma is an autumnal mix of grass and apples, intriguing, but smelling a little too much like Bad Lager. The texture is big and sticky and gummy: the brewery's Brett-in-residence making its presence felt whether it was meant to or not. It doesn't taste like a pils. Yes there's the peppery rocket from its Saaz and Hallertauer Mittlelfruh, but that's a sideshow next to some seriously loamy funk and a musty, dusty, damp-attic finish. I think I have to file this beer under "interesting" rather than "good". I can see how it's taking on the costume of pilsner, but it's not a pilsner and shouldn't be advertised as such. As a wild-fermented oddity, the hops are too prominent and the bitterness interferes with the funky fun. A fascinating experiment, but not one that yielded good beer, I think.

Released next to it was Down To Earth, a six-month-aged mixed fermentation sour effort. I was expecting lambic vibes here. I didn't get any from the appearance, mind, it being pale and hazy. Did you know witbier used to to be spontaneously fermented? Just a digression... The beer smells very funky and extremely Belgian, like a back room at the Orval monastery where you have to wear a protective mask. On tasting, an explosion of lemons, apples, beetroot and kiwi, finishing on a slightly harsh vinegar note. It's busy, but not difficult or hard to take. While trying to find an angle I asked the wife how it tasted and she opined that it's like it comes from an earthenware pot. Spot on. This is rustic, raw, funky and special. The acidic bite is a little too far but otherwise it's absolutely beautiful. There's no direct Belgian analogue; it's just its own funky funky thang.

I suspect that the early, calmer, Wide Street beers were just to lull us into a false sense of security. The gloves are off here, the wild yeast is roaring, and while it's distinctive, it doesn't always play well with the underlying beer, or my palate.