Fugarillo
Brewery: Uncultured Ales
Style: Wild Specialty Beer (28C)
Package: 750ml Bottle
Purchased: Whichcraft, July, 2018
Best by: none
Consumed Date: 10/9/2018
Details from the Brewer
ABV: 7.2%
IBU: 15.5
OG: 14.2P
pH: 3.43
Fugarillo is a light golden barrel aged sour beer, fermented with naturally occurring wild yeast and bacteria from the Austin area, and dry hopped with fuggle and amarillo hops.
Review
Aroma – 9/12
A bright citric acid note hits first at a medium high level. This is rounded out with orange lemon and floral. Lower level notes of musty earthiness and a slight grassy, vegetalness. These hop notes are most dominant. A very slight crackery/grainey malt character is present when warmed. White oak pops through as well at a moderate level.
Appearance – 3/3
Pours a deep straw liquid. A strong haze is present, heavily limiting clarity. Pours with a dense ivory head of compact, small bubbles. Retention is great, with a good lingering layer and lacing.
Flavor – 16/20
A sharpness of acidity hits the tongue first. The lemon character of the acidity blends with a orange citrus hop character at a medium level. The mid-taste brings with it a bit of a touch of grass and earthy vegetal. Towards the finish, the oak character comes out with a mild bitterness. The oak continues to linger with a acidity for a slight note on the finish. There’s a complex funk quality (more musty and earthy) that comes out towards the end of the taste. Malt character is very light cracker and overbalanced by the hops and acidity.
Mouthfeel – 3/5
Medium high carbonation prickling the roof of the mouth and lips. The beer finishes with a moderate alcohol warmth in the throat. It dries the mouth out pretty well, and has a touch of astringency from the oak.
Overall Impression – 8/10
This is a really nice American Wild. The hopping profile, while strong, blends nicely with the acidity. To push this too the next level, I think the acid needs to be a touch lower. The oak character is a touch on the high side as well, but not as out of balance. Overall though, this works well but the notes are overly bold rather than subtle and harmonious.
Rating – 39/50
For my first time trying Uncultured Ales, I’m impressed. This is a nice hoppy excursion into funk and sour. The mixed culture being used here has a nice funk complexity, and can obviously bring the sourness. I’ve really been liking the IPA fouder blends coming out of Oddwoods, and this plays right along with similar notes.
Note: As I finished the bottle around an hour later, I did actually prefer it with the dregs mixed in.
