Someone Else’s Wort by ClubGonzo, Fermented Wort Beer, 3.8% ABV, 8 IBU.
This beer is probably not an attempt to brew a wonderful beer, but it’s the result of GlubGonzo’s what-happens-if… state-of-mind. He’s previously made a cider by fermenting cheap pasteurised apple juice, so I guess the next logical step is to ferment wort beer.
ClubGonzo’s Someone Else’s Wort, batch 37.
It pours a good-looking, crystal clear copper body with a big, creamy, fully lasting, off-white head. My glass is covered in beautiful lacing when the beer is gone.
To my utter surprise the aroma is quite pleasant! It’s very fruity and there are also some nice yeasty notes. Or maybe the fruity notes are caused by the yeast alone, because there is little hops added to this beer, I think? What kind of yeast has done the job here? It’s almost a bit Belgian? On the other hand, I’ve had lightly hopped beers that have been fermented with the good ol’ Safale US-05 that gave me the same Belgian associations. When there’s no hops that can overpower the yeast I’ve found the fruitiness that a plain ale yeast provides somewhat similar to a Belgian yeast/Saaz hops combo. Looking forward to hear the brewer’s comments! Anyway, I would never have guessed that this is fermented wort beer, I can’t find any traces of wort whatsoever.
The taste is quite sweet, yet the finish is pretty dry. There is very little bitterness. Fruity flavour with hints of banana, again without wort beer notes. I had planned not to take this beer seriously at all, but I must admit that I don’t find this crazy experiment bad at all.
The mouthfeel isn’t all that pleasant, it’s a bit watery and doesn’t feel quite right. The body isn’t as light as I had expected, and since the taste has some sweetness I guess the yeast could have managed to remove this brew even further from it’s sweet wort origin if that was the brewer’s intention. The carbonation is lively.
Conclusion: This is crazy. You can spend hours upon hours to brew a beer that ends up pretty lousy, and then Someone Else’s Wort demonstrates that it’s actually possible to brew a drinkable beer by simply adding yeast to wort beer? What an insane world. Stop messing with my head, ClubGonzo.
Aroma: 6/10 Appearance: 4/5 Taste: 6/10 Palate: 2/5 Overall: 10/20 Ratebeer score: 2.8/5.0
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