Funkwerks Helter Spelter

Brewed by Funkwerks
Style: Specialty Grain
Fort Collins, Colorado USA

Serve in Lager glass, Tumbler

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Hazy brick-orange. Foamy collar of bubbles encircles a broken center. Dull, nondescript nose of jelly candy, medicinal alcohol, caramelized malt, pineapple upside-down cake and vague peppery phenolics. Fuzzy carbonation. Slickly fruity upfront, with a sharp alcohol push kissed with mild notes of pineapple, bubblegum and clove. Throughout, a Spelt-induced gluey texture exacerbates the overt fruity slickness and lends far too much weight to the body. As the esters and yeast collide, an unpleasant note of banana taffy emerges. Vanilla cake-tinged maltiness doesn’t help with the poor cleanliness, and the absence of adequate dryness prolongs the residual sugars to near palate-fatigue. Trace of pecan looms well beneath the surface, but fails to overcome the tacky weight. Medicinal alcohol combines with skins of Red Delicious apples and pureed overripe banana to lend further dullness. Little in the way of luster to be found. Hops lurk in the background with a perceptible floral pungency and sassy spice, but as the body is mostly muddled because of poor attenuation, any well-defined hoppy brightness is largely obscured. Closes densely hoppy and sweetly malty with an off-putting green banana tang colliding with alcohol and light sulfur. This comes off as a very generic Belgian ale, and a fairly Americanized one as it is heavily yeasty, alcoholic, sweet and banana-laden. The nose is curiously mute, as well. I find the mentioning of "caramel and apple" in the description to be questionable if not somewhat comical because not only are these two characters among the most uninteresting and unfitting (to me), they are among the easiest to execute. Heck, your first home-brewed attempt at a Belgian ale will probably contain them. The quality here is pretty lackluster, and the $10 price is equally disappointing (why isn’t this $4 - $5?).

Bottle. Pours lightly hazy copper with a large, frothy white head, medium retention with light lacing. Aroma is earthy and barnyard yeast, cereal, straw, and meal malt with medium spicy hops and light fruity esters of apricot and pear. Flavor is malt dominant with light hops and bitterness, light earthy and barnyard notes with a dry finish. Medium body and carbonation.

Bottle. Mostly clear amber with thick, frothy off-white head; good retention and spare lacing. Aroma is Belgian yeast, candy sugar, straw and cookie malt, citrus fruit, grassy and floral hops, and faint spice. Flavor is malt forward with good supporting hops (light bitterness) and fruit esters; dry finish. Medium body, carbonation, and warmth.

Pours a dark amber with a overflowing fluffy creamy colored head. No apparent lacing to this one. Smell is heavily sweet and yeasty. Aroma of funk, dough, candied sugar and fruiity, some apple and maybe a hint of some orange in there. I definitely get the amber saison label from the aroma. Just like with the saison, the flavor threw me for a little surprise. I found the flavor to be a lot more balanced than the aroma had led me guessing it would be. Funky and sweet with some apple and a caramel malt base. I really like this and again the I think the amber saison label is pretty fiitting. A nice creamy feel to this, medium bodied, with a nice level of carbonation that makes this amber a little different than the typical amber feel. Another winner from Funkwerks in my book.

On tap at Oskar Blues Homemade Liquids and Solids. Clear orangey gold with a fizzy head that doesn’t last too well. Nice aroma of orange rind, pale grainy malt, and a bit of bubblegum yeast with a bit of sugar. Taste was silly and fun in all the right ways. Grainy sweet with some citrus, a bit of yeasty bubblegum, some funky esters, apple, ending dry but not too crisp--nice linger of clove and orange. Quite nice.

750ml bottle. Pours a hazy copper amber with a big fizzy off white head that goes to a thin film and leaves some lacing.

The aroma is bready toasted malts with some yeasty banana and clove and some green apple.

The flavor is toasted malts and a little fruit with a dry medium bitter finish. The mouthfeel medium bodied with slightly spritzy carbonation and a little watery.

Overall, an OK beer. It’s milder than expected. Not sure if I cared for the mix of toasted malts, apples and yeast.

750 ml bottle poured a clear reddish amber with a small lasting amber head. Aromas of yeast, carmel, apple and light spice. Palate was medium bodied and crisp with a smooth dry finish. Flavors of carmel, yeast, spice and light apple with a smooth dry lingering spiced finish.

apple and caramel? how did they manage such a unique and interesting combination of flavors, in an ale no less! i don’t know what this beer is trying to be, but maybe the goal was "dull, rough caramel malt mess with red apple esters and dirty dishsoap peppery phenols", and if it was, i’d say they nailed it.

750ml bottle poured into a Tulip at 40°. Color is a deep hazy orange amber with good carbonation and a tall thick head. Aroma is sour with apple and caramel scents. It has a medium body with a smooth foamy mouth feel. Flavor of toffee, apple and hoppy herbs, then a light sour feel comes in rolling into the after taste with a bit of the cloves showing. Overall this is a great Saison with nice well balanced flavors.

Pour out of 750 mL bottle is dark reddish orange with nice lasting white head. Aroma has notes of biscuit, caramel, toffee, some hints of grass, notes of sweet orange, grapefruit in there, touch of spicy clove notes and apple in there as well. Taste is a mix of cooked apple, pear, apricot, and brandy, some hints of caramel and toffee, some biscuit, some cracker and yeast notes go into a hint of spice, finishing fairly dry but a bit sweet, Not bad.

The pour is a hazy, deep amber color with a moderately full, fluffy, off-white head which settles quickly to a very thin layer and leaves minimal lace. The nose is predictable with red delicious apples, ginger, cloves, peppery phenols, slight toasted notes, and some bubblegum. The flavor is similar but lacks either the malt depth of a Belgian ale or the tartness of a saison; bready, almost rye-like malts, still some pepper, light toasted caramel, apple and bubblegum notes are light, and ginger. The palate is moderate, lively, drying, and slightly creamy. The finish is dry, peppery, still apple and ginger. The beer is really neither Belgian ale or saison; the malt/yeast depth is minimal for a Belgian and the bitter, tart nature is missing for a saison. The complexity is fair and the apple can be overwhelming. Not a bad beer but just doesn’t work for me, regardless of style; disappointing from a brewery I have grown to love.