Flora
Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Farmhouse - Saison Rotating|
Score
7.94
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Flora is the wine barrel-aged version of Florence, our grandfather’s sister, as well as the name of our Farmstead® wheat ale. In her honor, we fill French oak wine barrels with Florence and allow the beer to mature in the presence of our resident microflora. After extended aging, a beautifully complex beer emerges; Florence becomes Flora.
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8.8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 9
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 9
Batch 6 magnum shared by Adam on 7/25/15, with some really enjoyable kid rock playing in the background....sigh.
Just a crazy stupendously perfect appearance. Lightly hazy brass with just huge, dense, well-retained, white head atop.
Mossy, very earthy plant-like character in the nose is complemented by sulfur/poop-like yeast/bacteria notes that are quite enjoyable. Very nice and restrained on the barrels, no huge wine character and not a ton of tannin dullness. Love the stinky, funky nose and the beer seems very appropriately named. No alcohol or flaws.
Soft, gentle floral notes and cornflower-like delicateness creeping in between the moderate acids and light maltiness. Lilacs, mangoes, pineapple, honeyed maltiness and some dry, grainy wheat character. Nice balance on the sweetness/dryness and a fairly thick body. In that sense, the "thickness" or "fullness" from the wheat, the extra body or chewiness from the barrel tannin and the creamy-full texture from the carbonation don’t really go together, I don’t think, but it’s still awesomely flavorful and it’s ok that it drinks a bit bigger than it actually is.
Well, I guess I’m officially in the Hill Farmstead superfan club, but then, I’ve always thought very highly of Shaun’s brewing (see my reviews for his saisons from his days at the Shed, if you care). These "saisons" are awesome, regardless of how you feel about style guidelines and what is a "true saison". I’m not afraid to admit how good they are and jump on the bandwagon with my high reviews. They really were almost unanimously awesome. Adam aging them in a cool cellar for a year via a magnum (which reduces oxidation) certainly didn’t hurt either.
-End Justification for why I like beers I like. 8/5/8/4/17
750mL bottle, B6 again, drunk 11/5/16.
With some more time to develop, this has developed more funk, mineral and even sulfur. It’s qute sublime, not overly sour, and still shows plentiful body/texture for 18 months of age. I love the Flora series in all its iterations and the base beer is no exception. Upping the score a bit. Rating is for this experience.
Just a crazy stupendously perfect appearance. Lightly hazy brass with just huge, dense, well-retained, white head atop.
Mossy, very earthy plant-like character in the nose is complemented by sulfur/poop-like yeast/bacteria notes that are quite enjoyable. Very nice and restrained on the barrels, no huge wine character and not a ton of tannin dullness. Love the stinky, funky nose and the beer seems very appropriately named. No alcohol or flaws.
Soft, gentle floral notes and cornflower-like delicateness creeping in between the moderate acids and light maltiness. Lilacs, mangoes, pineapple, honeyed maltiness and some dry, grainy wheat character. Nice balance on the sweetness/dryness and a fairly thick body. In that sense, the "thickness" or "fullness" from the wheat, the extra body or chewiness from the barrel tannin and the creamy-full texture from the carbonation don’t really go together, I don’t think, but it’s still awesomely flavorful and it’s ok that it drinks a bit bigger than it actually is.
Well, I guess I’m officially in the Hill Farmstead superfan club, but then, I’ve always thought very highly of Shaun’s brewing (see my reviews for his saisons from his days at the Shed, if you care). These "saisons" are awesome, regardless of how you feel about style guidelines and what is a "true saison". I’m not afraid to admit how good they are and jump on the bandwagon with my high reviews. They really were almost unanimously awesome. Adam aging them in a cool cellar for a year via a magnum (which reduces oxidation) certainly didn’t hurt either.
-End Justification for why I like beers I like. 8/5/8/4/17
750mL bottle, B6 again, drunk 11/5/16.
With some more time to develop, this has developed more funk, mineral and even sulfur. It’s qute sublime, not overly sour, and still shows plentiful body/texture for 18 months of age. I love the Flora series in all its iterations and the base beer is no exception. Upping the score a bit. Rating is for this experience.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Jan 2026
at 19:49
9/10
Super elegant, stone fruit, honey. Layered funk.
Tried
from Bottle
on 12 Aug 2025
at 23:03
8.5/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 9.5
Flavor 8
Texture 7
Overall 9
Fofa draught, 8/2/25.
Not 100% sure this is batch 1 but most likely. Listed as 2012 kegging of a 2011 vintage.
Bright, rich, fruity, malty, rounded aroma is perfect. Just enough malt, Brett, Sacch and rich mineral.
Less malty in the mouth, having attenuated a fair bit in 13 years, but not thin or oxidized. Lactic, Wheaty, tart, clean and refreshing.
Not 100% sure this is batch 1 but most likely. Listed as 2012 kegging of a 2011 vintage.
Bright, rich, fruity, malty, rounded aroma is perfect. Just enough malt, Brett, Sacch and rich mineral.
Less malty in the mouth, having attenuated a fair bit in 13 years, but not thin or oxidized. Lactic, Wheaty, tart, clean and refreshing.
Tried
from Draft
at
Hill Farmstead Brewery
on 02 Aug 2025
at 17:52
8/10
—
Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 8
Overall 7
Draight from brouwerij lijn. Golden shiny pour white head. Zesty lemon with floral and fruits. Dry finish. Real good
Tried
on 20 May 2025
at 01:16
Tried
on 30 Jul 2024
at 20:19
7/10
Hapu, marjane, tsitrus, väike nisu, mõru, happeline. Ok.
Tried
from Bottle
on 30 Jul 2024
at 20:19
7.2/10
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Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 6
Texture 8
Overall 7
On tap at Tørst. Pours orange. Fragrant, lemongrass, peach, light petrol, dill, apricot. Nice soft body. Decent.
Tried
from Draft
on 04 Nov 2022
at 22:35
6.8/10
—
Appearance 6
Aroma 7
Flavor 7
Texture 6
Overall 7
Brown bottle, 750 ml, lot 3, from and with Luc Bourbonnière (merci!), at Sébastien Bertrand, savoured on June 4, 2022; eye: amber, cloudy, no effervescence, ring of khaki head, no lacing; nose: light madeira, citric, old, woody; mouth: light madeira, citric, old, oaky, light red wine, light tannin, woody finale with presence of red wine, medium body, lightly below average carbonation, slightly sweet, slightly tannic texture; in summary: fine FRANÇAIS
Bouteille brune, 750 ml, lot 3, de et avec Luc Bourbonnière (merci!), chez Sébastien Bertrand, savourée le 4 juin 2022; œil : ambrée, voilée, pas d'effervescence, anneau de mousse kaki, pas de dentelle; nez : léger madère, citrique, vieux, boisé; bouche : léger madère, citrique, vieux, boisé, léger vin rouge, léger tannin, finale boisée avec présence de vin rouge, corps moyen, carbonatation légèrement sous la moyenne, très légèrement sucrée, texture très légèrement tannique; en résumé : bien
Bouteille brune, 750 ml, lot 3, de et avec Luc Bourbonnière (merci!), chez Sébastien Bertrand, savourée le 4 juin 2022; œil : ambrée, voilée, pas d'effervescence, anneau de mousse kaki, pas de dentelle; nez : léger madère, citrique, vieux, boisé; bouche : léger madère, citrique, vieux, boisé, léger vin rouge, léger tannin, finale boisée avec présence de vin rouge, corps moyen, carbonatation légèrement sous la moyenne, très légèrement sucrée, texture très légèrement tannique; en résumé : bien
Tried
from Bottle
on 01 Sep 2022
at 14:19
9/10
Tried
from Bottle
on 03 Sep 2021
at 13:19
7.5/10
—
Appearance 8
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 6
Overall 7
Bottle: Poured a pale yellow color ale with a large foamy head. Aroma of funky Brett notes with some tartness, oak and light acidity notes also perceptible. Taste is a mix of funky Brett notes, oak, tart notes with subtle acidic notes. Body is about average with good carbonation. Interesting saison with right amount of complexity.
Tried
from Bottle
on 24 Dec 2019
at 17:07