Mandolin (Barrel House)
Blue Mountain Brewery in Afton, Virginia, United States 🇺🇸
Farmhouse - Bière de Garde Regular|
Score
6.89
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Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Crisp, clear amber coloured body with a bit of a copper glow and a thick, rich, dense four centimetre tall tan head - very nice. Aroma of hay, grass, yeast, honey, apples, pears and a bit of funk - but not much; fairly nice and herbal/airy. Medium-bodied; Strong yeastie flavour at first with an earthy and barnyardie maltiness with a definite alcohol kick, some pleasant pear/fruity sweetness with a herbal and grassy bite and some good complexity on the back end. Aftertaste is fairly complex with a good biere de garde barnyardie and yeastie kick and some sweetness that lasts at the end, all with a herbal and grassy freshness. Overall, a nice beer for the style and once you drink this, you can differentiate this and a saison immediately. Nice to sample and might make me try more from this brewery, but perhaps not when they aren’t cheap. I sampled this 75 cL bottle purchased from Arrowine in Arlington, Virginia on 19-September-2012 for US$11.99 sampled at home in Washington on 27-September-2012. Cork States: Best by March 2013.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
750 mL bottle from Whole Foods Market Charlottesville. Pours a hazy orange-amber color with a large frothy off-white head. Good head retention. Aroma of big spice notes, apple, bread, caramel, pineapple. The taste is citrus, pineapple, apple, pale bready malts, faint spice in the finish along with some herbal hops. Medium bodied.
Appearance - 4 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
Released on 6/18/12, presumably a resurrection of the retired beer, although the listed ABV is now 9%.White grape and light funk on the nose. Clear amber, thin head. White grape and apricot flavor. Not boozy, light orange peel finish. Not much of a wow factor, but well made.