Foamers Folly x Fuggles & Warlock – Unicorn Blanket Wild Farmhouse Ale

Foamers Folly x Fuggles & Warlock – Unicorn Blanket Wild Farmhouse Ale Review

On New Year’s Eve, we enjoyed a beer that may or may not be available on the market at this point. As we noted about a year ago, the beer was officially released at a Foamers’ Folly event in January 2019. It was clear the brewery was proud of the collaboration with Fuggles & Warlock Craftworks, and it turns out they had every reason to feel that way.

Unicorn Blanket was described in Foamers’ press release as being “fermented using 100% Brettanomyces and blended with Sauvignon Blanc grape must.” Tasting more or less blindly (not reading the label or web-based tasting notes until after recording our impressions below), we did not actually know about the grape must at first but definitely noticed the vinous, white-wine-like nose and flavour. We’re not really white wine drinkers, but we loved the way that aspect complemented this refreshing brew.

The beer’s unusual name is no doubt a play on the term “horse blanket”, a phrase often used to describe one of the characteristic flavours of Belgian farmhouse ales (it took a while for that reference to click in). For us however, this recipe was less about extreme funkiness and more about showcasing some pleasantly flavourful esters.

For a high-ABV beer, it did not taste at all alcoholic to us; it was very drinkable. The brew has depth but is quite accessible; it would probably be more enjoyable than the average beer in this style for an entry-level drinker.

Unicorn Blanket is a wine-reminiscent beer in a wine-sized bottle that will appeal to a lot of craft beer lovers, if they can still get their hands on it. Even if you can’t find this beer, it’s a good indicator of what Foamers is capable of.