On Tap.

Man, Lakewood's North Texas Beer Week Release Is Wild.

Welcome to On Tap! Each week in this recurring feature, we'll take an in-depth look at one of the many beers now available in the suddenly crowded North Texas brew scene. The goal here is to look at these area beers without our local goggles on and to wonder aloud, “Is this beer good or do I just like it because it's local?” Should be a fun experiment, no? Cheers to that!

This week, we sipped on Lakewood Brewing’s Wild Manimal.

Fast Facts on Lakewood Brewing's Wild Manimal.
Style: American Wild Ale — Brett Beer.
ABV: 8.9 percent.
International Bitterness Units (IBUs): 44.
Color: Medium amber.
Availability: Very limited.

Overview.
Since Lakewood Brewing opened in 2011, it has made steady, incremental steps toward bigger flavors, a wider spectrum of solid beers, and even some wacky, experimental beers. This dry-hopped farmhouse red ale is a special North Texas Beer Week release, meaning it might kind of hard to find. We can guarantee it’ll be available at a special tapping at the Filmore Pub tomorrow, Friday the 13, though. So there you go. Let us now dive deep in to the luscious landscape of wild ale and its funky goodness.

Background on American Wild Ale — Brett Beer.
So Lakewood says that this beer is a barrel-aged farmhouse red ale. I am going to go out on a limb here and call it an American Wild Ale. And I could be wrong on my classification, but that's okay. For me, when I see the word farmhouse, I think about saisons, and Wild Manimal lacks that certain saison-ness. So, Lakewood's Manimal is the base beer that Wild Manimal is built upon. Have you had Manimal? I cannot seem to find it. Back to the wild ale. Wild Manimal is fermented with Brettanomyces, a lovely yeast that is known for producing strong tropical notes, tartness and a classic horsey flavor.

Appearance.
Wild Manimal pours medium amber. It has a medium white head that disappears after a few minutes. It's not a clear beer by any means, and that's OK. It's a barrel-aged beer, after all, and it can be weird. It's recommended!

Aroma.
The first whiff of Wild Manimal brings that classic Brettanomyces funk. Compared to some other wild ales or sours, this beer smells way less like that typical horse blanket funk that Brett beers are known for. There is a strong undercurrent of tropical stone fruit, a cleanness. Behind these two dominant aromas is something dry, sharp and tart. It's a tease of the tartness to come. Wild Manimal is a dry-hopped beer, and the hops are noticeable, but they don't dominate the nose like an IPA does.

Flavor.
While Wild Manimal is definitely tart, it's not distractingly tart. The tartness on first sip is there, and it punches your tongue. But then it dissipates in the aftertaste and I am left with a clean, fruity dryness. This is a rather special beer because it is barrel-aged. Some beers, like Wild Manimal, are kept up to a year in their barrels. There's a subtle woody, oaky note in the aftertaste that rounds out the beer.

Mouthfeel.
Wild Manimal is a medium-bodied beer that has a medium level of carbonation. The slight sourness of this beer accentuates the carbonation and provides a nice lingering sensation.

Overall Impression.
I can't say that I absolutely love all of Lakewood Brewing's experimental and/or wacky beers. I do like Wild Manimal, though. Lakewood is seriously upping its barrel program, and it is wildly evident with a wild ale such as this one. Wild ales are tough to pull off, and Lakewood has knocked it out of the park with this beer. If you're not into tart or sour beers, this, perhaps, isn't the beer for you. Maybe split one between you and a friend and see how it goes. And then order another.

Score.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I’d give Lakewood Brewing's Wild Manimal a 9.

What's happening in the area brew scene?
• Friday, November 6-15. North Texas Beer Week.
• Thursday, November 12. Birds and Brew at Trinity River Audubon Center.
• Thursday, November 12. Oskar Blues 6 Course Beer Dinner at Chimera Brewing Company.
• Friday, November 13. 2nd Annual Brewer's Ball at Renaissance Dallas Hotel.
• Saturday, November 14. Brew Mile at Globe Life Park.
• Sunday, November 15. Fort Worth Weekly's Homebrew Throwdown at Panther Island Pavilion.
• Saturday, November 21. Festicle at BrainDead Brewing.

Previous On Tap Reviews:
• Peticolas' Royal Scandal: 10.
• Community's Mosaic IPA: 10.
• Peticolas' Velvet Hammer: 10.
• Community's Barrel-Aged Legion: 10.
• Community's Legion: 10.
• Lakewood's Saint Dymphna: 9.5.
• Peticolas' Lost Epic: 9.5.
• Community's Ascension Porter: 9.5.
• Lakewood's Temptress: 9.5.
• Lakewood's Goatman: 9.5.
• Community's Public Ale: 9.5.
• Peticolas' Thrilla in Brazilla: 9.5.
• Revolver's Blood & Honey: 9.
• Martin House's Imperial Texan: 9.
• Community's Trinity Tripel: 9.
• Peticolas' Irish Goodbye: 9.
• Four Corners' Block Party Porter: 9.
• Cedar Creek's Belgian Dubbel: 9.
• Peticolas' Ghost Of Alfred Brown: 8.5.
• Deep Ellum's Easy Peasy IPA: 8.5.
• Deep Ellum's Oak Cliff Coffee Ale: 8.5.
• Lakewood's Rock Ryder: 8.5.
• Rahr's Bourbon Barrel Aged Winter Warmer: 8.5.
• Lakewood's Raspberry Temptress: 8.5.
• Bitter Sisters' Belgian Tripel: 8.
• Noble Rey's SteamPunk: 8.
• 903 Brewers' Citra On Top: 8.
• Bitter Sisters' Hissy Fit: 8.
• BrainDead's Gritz: 8.
• Community's Barrel-Aged Inspiration : 8.
• Cedar Creek's Fisticuffs: 8.
• Lakewood's Punkel: 8.
• Four Corners' El Chingon IPA: 8.
• Martin House's Day Break: 8.
• Deep Ellum's GOURDzilla: 8.
• Peticolas' The Duke (Aged 12 Months): 8.
• Deep Ellum's Pale Ale: 8.
• Revolver's Bock: 8.
• 903 Brewers' Sasquatch: 8.
• Peticolas' Wintervention: 8.
• Armadillo Ale Works' Brunch Money: 8.
• Martin House's Salsa Verde: 8.
• Cedar Creek's Spinning Mule Robust Porter: 8.
• Lakewood's Holiday Bonus: 8.
• Lakewood's Hop Trapp: 8.

• True Vine’s Unicorn’s Revenge: 7.5.
• Deep Ellum's Hop Seeker: 7.5.
• Four Corners' El Super Bee: 7.5.
• Lakewood's Hopochondria: 7.5.
• Three Nations GPA: 7.5.
• Martin House's Rubberneck Red: 7.5.
• Lakewood's Antigoon's Revenge: 7.5.
• Community's Texas Pils: 7.5.
• Lakewood's Zomer Pils: 7.5.
• Cedar Creek's Dankosaurus: 7.5.
• Martin House's Turtle Power: 7.
• Collective's Petite Golden Sour: 7.
• Shannon's Chocolate Stout: 7.
• BrainDead's Red Ale: 7.
• Community's Razzy Raspberry Witbier: 7.
• Martin House's Gateway Blonde Ale: 7.
• Bearded Eel's Purple Unicorn: 7.
• Shannon Brewing Company's Irish Red: 7.
• Texas Ale Project's Somethin' Shady: 7.
• Deep Ellum IPA: 7.
• Cedar Creek's The Lawn Ranger: 7.
• Martin House Brewing Company's Cellarman's Reserve IPA (Amarillo).: 7.
• Lakewood's Till & Toil: 7.
• 903 Brewers' The Chosen One: 7.
• 903 Brewers' Sugar On Top: 7.
• Martin House's Gateway XPA: 7.
• Armadillo Ale Work's Quakertown Stout: 7.
• Revolver's High Brass: 7.
• Community's Pale Ale: 7.
• Martin House's River House: 7.
• Grapevine Craft Brewery's Sir William's Brown Ale: 7.
• Community's Funnel Cake Ale: 7.
• Audacity's Boss Raptor IPA: 7.
• Collective Brewing Project's Mom Azacca: 6.5.
• Revolver's Ironhead IPA: 6.5.
• 903 Brewers' Trot Line: 6.5.
• Peticolas' Operation Collaboration: 6.5.
• Grapevine Craft Brewery's Nightwatch: 6.5.
• Peticolas' The Duke: 6.5.
• Deep Ellum's Double Brown Stout : 6.5.
• Tupps' Cotton Mill Gold: 6.
• Rabbit Hole's Tweedleyum: 6.
• Rabbit Hole's Off With Your Red: 6.
• Cedar Creek's Elliott's Phoned Home Pale Ale: 6
• Grapevine Craft Brewery's Lakefire: 6
• Armadillo Ale Works' WunderMelon: 6
• Deep Ellum Pale Ale: 6
• Lakewood's La Dame Du Lac: 5.5.
• Deep Ellum's Numb Comfort: 5.
• Four Bullets' Black Jack Brown: 4.5.
• Four Corners Heart O' Texas: 4.
• Audacity's Sunset Boulevard: 4.
• Shannon Brewing Company's IPA: 4.
• Grapevine's Monarch: 4.
• Franconia Wheat: 3.
• Miller Lite: 1.