Top 100 Beers of 2021

#3

97
Lone Buffalo
Wild Leap Brew Co.

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Chief Brewing Officer Chris Elliott Talks Lone Buffalo

Who was responsible for this beer’s recipe?
This was a recipe that I developed specifically for barrel-aging.

What sets this beer apart from other examples within the style?
Unlike a lot of beers today that get an in-barrel or post-barrel adjunct treatment before bottling, these came straight from the barrel to the bottle. I trusted the barrels to get the flavors I was looking for, and it turned out even better than expected.

What makes this beer truly World Class?
This beer had an incredible amount of care and patience to become what it is today. This was one of those unique situations where I tried a completely new formula for a stout, and it aged into exactly the flavors that I had intended it to have 17 months later. 

How popular is this beer among your faithful fans?
This was the fastest sell-out in our history, and it gave us the confidence to expand to a much larger barrel-aging program.

Where does this beer’s name come from?
This is a name that is a spin-off of the story of our mascot, the Lone Buffalo. The Buffalo is a powerful animal that roams in herds, but the Wild Leap Buffalo broke away from the herd to blaze a new path. Similarly, the Lone Buffalo stout comes from a barrel that was too good to be blended with others, so we package it straight from the single barrel.

Is this your “desert island beer?”
In my opinion, this is the best beer we have ever created. If I had to pick one to drink forever, it would be this stout.

Can you describe this beer in 10 words or less?
Chocolate-covered bourbon cherries with brown sugar.

Do you know a story – or have a personal story – that revolves around this beer?
This beer has a special place in our hearts because it was the very first bottled Wild Leap barrel-aged stout. When we released it online, it sold out instantly, and unfortunately we didn’t have enough to share with our employees. But I do have a case set aside to share at special events, so this is definitely a beer that our staff looks forward to.

Judge’s Second Opinion

Wild Leap Brew Co., so named by its founders for the wild leap of faith they made in 2017 when they left prosperous vocations and established a brewery in LaGrange, Georgia, has proved to be not only fortuitous for the proprietors, but for all lovers of high-quality beer.

In addition to their many other fine beers, Lone Buffalo stands out in the Specialty Wood-Aged Beer category.

Many barrel-aged beers are blended with other barrels of their like; however, Lone Buffalo – as the name would indicate – proclaims its own unique piquancy.

The care demonstrated in creating this one-of-a-kind effort is manifest in the finished product.

The barrels Wild Leap used for Lone Buffalo were hand-selected; after that, each single barrel is transferred and conditioned in its own fermenter and finally manually bottled and labeled. Lone Buffalo is a one-of-a-kind release distributed in 750-mL bottles.

As mentioned in my review earlier this year (and of utmost importance) is the quality of the base beer supporting the complexities of barrel-aging. The imperial stout base, which expertly buttresses this effort, is just that. It is well aged with an ABV of 10.7% that is neither hot nor overwhelming. A harmonious blend of aromas and flavors characteristic of wood-aging are evident throughout.

The brewer, through the lengthy barrelaging process, has effectively melded together the rich roasted malt flavors of the imperial stout base with sherry and vanilla notes and a smack of whiskey-like flavor. The color is inky black, and the body is full and smooth with no tannic astringency from the wood-aging.

USA Today named Wild Leap the best new brewery of 2019. After tasting and reviewing Lone Buffalo it became obvious that they will continue to excel – and should be congratulated for this world-class effort. – James Link