Almanac Farmer's Reserve Blueberry
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Tasting Notes
The aroma leads with fresh and jammy blueberry layered over a funky, barnyard-edged base from the wild fermentation, with hints of oak from barrel aging. On the palate, bright fruit acidity mingles with earthy Brett character and a tannic backbone that keeps the sweetness honest. The body is medium, neither syrupy nor thin, with a dry, tartly fruited finish that lingers. It reads more like a thoughtful farmhouse interpretation of fruit than a flavored beer.
About the Brewery
Almanac Beer Co. is based in San Francisco, California, and has built a strong reputation around farm-to-barrel sour and wild ales that feature locally and regionally sourced fruit. They operate a blended, barrel-aging program that draws comparisons to Belgian lambic traditions, though their work is distinctly Californian in its ingredient sourcing and flavor sensibility. Their Farmer's Reserve series is the flagship expression of that approach, with rotating fruit variants released in bottle and can formats.
Food Pairings
A cheese board anchored by aged chèvre works well because the goat's milk tang echoes the ale's lactic acidity without competing with the fruit. Duck breast or pork tenderloin with a fruit reduction picks up the blueberry character while the beer's acidity cuts through the fat. A slice of almond tart or frangipane pairs naturally since the nutty sweetness balances the tartness. Sharp aged cheddar also holds its own here, the crystalline bite standing up to both the funk and the fruit.
Style Guide
American Wild Ale is a broad category covering beers fermented or conditioned with wild yeast strains, most commonly Brettanomyces, and often lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus or Pediococcus. The style borrowed heavily from Belgian lambic and Flanders traditions but applies them without rigid geographic or process rules, leaving brewers room to incorporate adjuncts like fruit, wood aging, and blending. ABV typically ranges from around 5% to 8%, and the defining characteristics are tartness, funky or earthy yeast-derived notes, and a dry finish. It differs from straight farmhouse or saison styles in that wild or mixed fermentation is central rather than incidental.