Liquid Riot Hundo Blonde

It’s really interesting to see how breweries are using Brett now. This one was entirely fermented with it, and I don’t think I’ve ever had a 100% Brett fermented beer. Let’s see how it was.

ABV: 7%

Style: American Blonde Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Hundo is a blonde beer fermented in barrels entirely with Brettanomyces. Classic fruity, mildly funky Brett characteristics are present with a soft, doughy maltiness in the finish.”

Random: I wish I lived closer to the brewery so I could get more of this.

The beer poured with a thin, three finger head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a clear, straw yellow with high carbonation visible. The nose was really unique. It had some golden fruit characteristics up front. I specifically pulled out golden raisins and apricot. It then went into a spice note with some coriander. I also pulled out a scent that reminded me of white wine. Honey was at the end of the nose with a marked sweet smell. The taste was also like that of a full-bodied white wine. The oak and vanilla notes were a nice addition to the taste. Golden raisins came through as well. Since this said that it was fermented with Brett, I fully expected the usual horse blanket that comes with Brett, but this just dried the beer out, which was really nice. The body was light with moderate carbonation. It had a lengthy, dry finish with white grapes, oak and vanilla. This was $12.99 for the bottle, which came to $.77 per ounce. Despite the higher than average price tag, this beer was absolutely outstanding. I didn’t expect this beer to have so many layers of flavor and I would have this again in a second. If only it was distributed to New Jersey.

Untappd Rating: 5.0/5.0

Liquid Riot Burton-On-Funk

When I picked this beer up, I had no idea about the style of the beer. I just knew that it was from Liquid Riot and I wanted to bring it home and give it a shot. After doing some research on it, I’m not sure that I’ve ever had an opportunity to try a Brett English Pale Ale. There’s a first time for everything, I guess.

ABV: 8%

Style: English Pale Ale

Trivia: According to the brewery website, “Burton-on-Funk is the barrel aged version of our Burton ale cellared in a bourbon barrel for about 10 months with Brettanomyces. It’s nicely malty, minerally, and dry with strong notes of classic Brett funk. The finish is very dry with notes of bourbon and oak with a lingering hoppiness.”

Random: If we ever go back to Portland, without a doubt, we’re going back to Liquid Riot.

This beer poured with a huge, thick, four finger white head that dissipated slowly. It left some lacing on the glass as well. The body was a dusky, light orange color with moderate carbonation. The nose was very interesting. It started with some tartness and hay and then warm, vanilla notes with bourbon. The taste had more bourbon notes up front. It had oak, ash, and warm vanilla with a touch of rye spice. The brett came through, but didn’t offer a lot of tartness. Instead, it just dried out the beer. There was also some earthy, grassy hops that came through. It had a medium thick body with no alcohol warming. There was light carbonation. The finish was quick with bourbon and vanilla. This set me back $12.99 for a 375 mL bottle ($.98 per ounce), which isn’t cheap, but worth it for a really interesting beer that I would definitely have again.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0

Liquid Riot Quad

I really enjoy Belgian and Belgian-style beers, so when we visited the beer store in Portland, I picked this one up because I was very impressed by their Tripel that I had in a sampler. The last quad that I reviewed was in June, so it was definitely time to pick up another one.

ABV: 10%

Style: Quadrupel (Quad)

Trivia: According to biercellar.com, “Classic Belgian Quad brewed in honor of the Belgian Monks who invented the style. Big malt driven flavors of candied fruits and deep, dark brown sugar.”

Random: I’m hoping that since the Phillies got rid of Amaro that they are at least marginally competitive next year.

This beer poured with a half a finger of white head that dissipated quickly and left no lacing on the glass. The body was a hazy, dark chestnut color with high carbonation visible. The nose had bread, raisins and dates. After a few sniffs, I also picked up some oak and booze. The taste had an interesting spice that was reminiscent of rye, which gave the beer some pleasant depth. It also had notes of raisins and prunes, cherry and then oak and booze at the end. The bready character was there too, but it wasn’t as pronounced because of the other flavors. It also had a significant sweetness to it with the flavor of brown sugar that was really nice. It had a thick and chewy body with high carbonation. The finish was long and sticky with dark fruit. This bottle was $7.99 for 12.7 ounces ($.63 per ounce), which was a bit on the pricey side, but this was a well-done American interpretation of the quad style that provided depth of flavor and an enjoyable drinking experience. I would search this out if you find yourself by Portland.

Untappd Rating: 4.0/5.0