Santa Fe Wild Ale #3 (Zotte Berten Series)

Brewed by Santa Fe Brewing Company
Style: Sour Ale/Wild Ale
Santa Fe, New Mexico USA

Serve in Snifter, Tulip, Tumbler

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Winey agave syrup sweetness followed by soft funk and tart sourness on the nose. Very interesting as I have no fucking clue what a prickly pear is but it makes it smell cool I guess. Pours more or less amber, thin head. Flavors of mild tangy sour lactic notes with a hint of oak and funk. Fruity sweet agave syrup notes underneath with a mild bitey sharpness in the finish. Bubbly carb but a little flabby in the mouthfeel department. Interesting beer.

Bomber courtesy of last year’s winter Secret Santa - thanks, mattyb (I think)! Nicely lustrous dark brown to copper pour, with fairly minimal carbonation and a nice fleeting set of colors in the center. Nose is initially quite tart but the taste turns out to be actually fairly mellow, a bit too sweet and grainy on the back end in places. I reckon this latter element has to do with a bit too much of the pear for my taste, whereas I’d have liked a bit more dry Chard and barrel. Still nice though.

Odd one shared by JCB. Pours clear amber/copper with more red tint. Minimal head. Nose of cherries, wood, cherry skins, and acetic vinegar. Summer fruits and some lemon notes. Not bad.

Thanks JCB for sharing. Pours soft clean copper with wispy dirty white head. Nose is really nice, acetic and caramelly with some acetone and cherry skin. Cherry skin and light acidity with a light sweetness.

In short: Synthetic stuff and chemicals in vinegar. Awful
How: Bottle 22oz. Consumed approximately one year after the beer release (assuming it was brewed only once). Bottle sent to me by tytoanderso, thanks Tyler
The look: Almost clear copper body topped by a short-lived beige head
In long: Nose is acetic with strong notes of plastic. We’re on to a bad start. Taste is even worst. Dr Pepper mixed with vinegar, crushed aspirins, plastic, cranberries, Baby Duck™ (a cheap effervescent rosé that was popular some years ago), medicinal cabinet, nail polish, … need I say more? Drain pour. This bottle “beats” Jackie-Os Chungas Old Bruin and is now the worst American sours I’ve ever had. Unbelievably bad especially considering that their Wild Ale #1 was such a masterpiece. This #3 is shit. This #3 is a number two.

Bottle, thanks JCB for sharing! Pours a slightly translucent dark amber with hardly any head or lace. This was okay at first but as it warmed it became sweeter, more watery, and it seemed very uncomplex.

750ml bottle with just about a year on it. This is my second crack at the Santa Fe Wilds (I had a fresh #6 a few months ago). The pour yields a lightly hazy dark rosé to light burgundy tinted body. A moderate head of beige foam is fizzy as all hell before completely disappearing within the matter of 30 seconds. I’ve never seen a head on a beer act that much like soda. It’s literally there one minute, and completely gone the next. There is no lacing whatsoever. The nose is mildly acetic (much less so than the #6), showing a very rosé-like vinous character. Aromas suggest notes of cherry and red grape, with subtle hints of cantaloupe melon esters and Hefeweizen yeast. Oak is present, though subtle. Flavors are only mildly buggy, touching on both lactic and acetic acids most prominently, with perhaps a soft kiss of brett. Tart cherry and tannic pink grapes add fruity pop, while distant hints of clove, banana, and maybe even some cocoa??? lend a baseline Hefe feel. The palate is moderately lively, pricking the tongue up front before finishing out papery and dry. The body is average in stature. I’d guess this brew to be around 6% ABV, based on feel, though I have no idea what it is in reality. Odd brew....but it is strangely appealing. Not bad at all. Not great....but not bad either.

bottle bikesandbeer brought back for me. Pours orange with no head. Nose is sweet slightly tart. Taste is tart muted, and just ok.

Another acedic smelling santa fe sour..I just smell acid..no wait, just a smidgen of powdered sugar as well. Flavors are quite different though...sweetness overrides the sourness..somewhat gritty though with like cheap chardonney characteristics...meh’

750 bottlw I purchased at the brewery. Shared with weeheavy sd.and dasilky. Strong tart aroma floral and spiced. Flavor doesn’t match thearoma. Slightly tart with fruit sweet but not as much as the aroma woyld indictate. mellow finish