BJCP 28C · American Wild Ale
Wild Specialty Beer
A Brett Beer or a Mixed-Fermentation Sour Beer with fruit, spices, wood or other additions that need to blend with the sourness and funk.
This is a specialty category, so it has no numbers of its own. Gravity, bitterness, color and alcohol are those of the base style you choose, plus whatever the special ingredient or process adds.
What Wild Specialty Beer is like
A 28A or 28B beer with an added ingredient or process: fruit, spices, herbs, wood, other sugars. The addition has to come through and fit the wild character.
Appearance
Depends on the base and the additions; fruit can tint it noticeably. It may be a little hazy.
Aroma
That of the wild or sour base combined with the special ingredient, which should be recognizable.
Flavor
The base's sourness and funk balanced with the addition. Fruit usually adds acidity and some tannins; wood adds oak and structure. Usually a dry finish.
Mouthfeel
Light to medium body. Fruit and wood can add slight astringency. Moderate to high carbonation.
Where Wild Specialty Beer comes from
It comes from the same craft scene as 28A and 28B, where fruited and barrel-aged sours have become very common.
Ingredients
A 28A or 28B base plus fruit, spices, herbs, wood, honey or other sugars. A traditional Fruit Lambic goes in 23F.
Brew it yourself
How to brew Wild Specialty Beer at home
Add the fruit once the base has reached the sourness you're after, because the sugars in the fruit restart fermentation and bring more funk and more carbonation. Wait until the gravity is stable before bottling. You have to state the wild base and the special ingredient; judges look at how well they come together.
Food pairing
Fruit desserts, foie gras and soft-ripened cheeses.
Glassware: Teku glass, a tasting glass that works with almost any style.
Frequently asked questions
What food pairs well with Wild Specialty Beer?
Fruit desserts, foie gras and soft-ripened cheeses.
Which styles are similar?
If you like it, also try Mixed-Fermentation Sour Beer, Fruit Lambic and Fruit Beer.
If you like Wild Specialty Beer, try these
Classification and statistics: official Wild Specialty Beer guidelines from the BJCP, 2021 edition. Original text by Hacer Cerveza Casera.