Austin’s Adelbert’s Brewery has released another beer bearing its Oddwood Ales label, and it hits store shelves just in time for Valentine’s Day. The beer is called Taming of the Savage Heart, a barrel- fermented sour beer.
Oddwood Ales is a project initiated by Adelbert Brewery’s Taylor Ziebarth. As the story goes, Adelbert’s founder Scott Hovey originally purchased 200 used wine oak barrels for the purpose of aging beer. Ziebarth was enthusiastic about the use of barrels in various ways, one of which was fermenting beer entirely in the barrels- something Adelbert’s Brewery had not previously attempted. He got his wish, and the side project of Oddwood Ales was born.
Taming of the Savage Heart is actually a blend of young and mature sour beer, fermented in barrels using wild and domesticated yeast cultures. The beer certainly has a woody flavor, combined with yeast, a touch of citrus, and pineapple. Near the end of the bottle, you are likely to find some yeast sediment and the addition of different yeasts does lead to a funky flavor character, as intended. I found the sourness, tartness, and acidity a bit much, but as long as I took the time and sipped slowly, savoring and examining the different flavors, everything was fine.
Ziebarth says he made a few changes to the recipe for Taming of the Savage Heart in order to keep it more in- line with Belgian lambic tradition.
“As a nod to lambic producers, we incorporated some aged hops and unmalted wheat into the recipe. Also keeping with their traditions, the beer was fermented and aged entirely in used oak wine barrels. We are very pleased with the outcome of this blend,” said Ziebarth.
Taming of the Savage Heart is presently shipping across the state of Texas from its Austin origination. This beer will be followed by Oddwood Saison in April. At present, Oddwood Ales are available only in Texas and can be found where other Adelbert’s Brewery beers are sold. The release is very limited, so grab a bottle while you can.
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