Appearance

The Parallel 49 / Tool Shed The Dangerous Wolfman comes in a tall can, similar to the other beers in the series. It has a brown Wolfman on the front, with the 50s / 60s style B-movie font. The beer pours the color of a red ale, but with a thinner viscosity. The head is medium thickness, white, and quite fluffy.

Aroma

After pouring the beer, I picked up a combination of saison, wheat ale and a general yeast. There’s also some effervescent quality to the aromas, as they’re all quite bright.

Flavor

The flavor is predominantly a saison or farmhouse funkiness, that gives way to lemon and a wheat ale like sweetness. As the beer progresses, I’d describe the overall profile as a farmhouse ale and wheat ale mashup.

Balance

The sweetness and metallic notes are pushed aside by the saison funk. That saison character dominates the flavor profile as the beer progresses and warms.

Finish

From my initial sips I’d describe the finish as a metallic and saison or farmhouse funk. That farmhouse character continues to build as the beer progresses. Some general sweetness underpins the beer.

Overall

I think I understood what they were going for on the Parallel 49 / Tool Shed The Dangerous Wolfman collaboration, but the saison funkiness is too much flavor for the rest of the beer, and throws the balance off. Normally, I find the balance is a component of the overall flavor profile, but in this case it impacts both the flavor and the finish. This was an interesting tasting experience, and I’m happy to have tried it out.

John McTavish

SCORE

5.08

Cost/Point

$0.52

Scoring System

Personal Beer Review: Parallel 49 / Tool Shed The Dangerous Wolfman