Day 288, Oct 15 / American Lager

Day 288 / October 15, 2011

American Lager

Wild Wolf Brewing Company  /  Nellysford, VA

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Should’ve Gone with the Alpha Ale

Wild Wolf is the newest and smallest of the breweries on the Brew Ridge Trail.  In fact, Wild Wolf is currently mainly a homebrew shop, with a nano-brewery in the back.  But that will all change on 11/11/11.  That’s the scheduled opening date for Wild Wolf’s new brewpub and brewing facility, just a mile down the road in a converted old schoolhouse.  And the homebrew shop will move into an old tobacco barn on the property.

The business was started by Danny Wolf, an avid home brewer, and his mother Mary.  A blessing of patience upon you both!

Wild Wolf currently only sells growlers at their shop, and offers customers two tiny samples to each customer.   I sampled the Fresh Hop Alpha Ale and the Black Wolf IBA (Black Ale).  Both were pretty good, but I didn’t think I’d want to bring home a growler (or half growler) of either.  So I got a half growler of the American Lager – I figured I couldn’t go wrong with that, right?

I kept the growler on ice for 24 hours and opened it up Saturday night.  It poured with almost no head into the glass.  To be honest, as I drank it, I wasn’t sure if I was drinking beer or cider.  The taste was a little sweet, with no noticeable malt or hop tastes, and it was a little flat too.  I’ll let Danny and his Mom work on their consistency before I make my next visit to Wild Wolf on the Brew Ridge Trail.