Hill Farmstead Brewery Ann

Ann

 

Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸

  Farmhouse - Saison Special
Score
8.36
ABV: 6.5% IBU: - Ticks: 41
Ann is a wine barrel fermented and aged version of Anna (1902-1993), our grandfather’s sister as well as the name of our honey Farmstead® ale. In honor of Anna, her namesake beer is the result of patiently waiting and then selecting our very best wine barrels of Anna – barrels that have been aged and conditioned for between 1 and 3 years. After being placed in wine barrels, the evolution of Anna into Ann is an indeterminate and metamorphic occurrence. Only a single digit percentage of all wine barrel-aged Anna becomes what is unmistakably identifiable as Ann. The beer, the barrel, and some yet unknown, unquantifiable condition seems to dictate its path and appearance. It is identified and selected only through the emotional response that it induces during barrel tasting.
 

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9.3
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9

2014 375mL drunk 5/26/17 at the brewery.
Was really hoping to try the 2016 batch but they ONLY had the 2014. DAMN. Life is hard.
Still smells wonderful; tons of tart acidity, spicy phenols and floral character from the honey with very soft oak and rich honeyed malt tones through it all. Very clean and much more gentle than when fresh.
Soft and very easygoing in the mouth with a lingering honey-like sweetness, soft wood tannins and lots of grass, juicy pineapple and melon. The carbonation is very low at this point and maybe the 375mLs haven’t aged as gracefully as the larger format bottles, as this is just a touch tired (I wouldn’t continue aging these small bottles more than a year and would definitely drink them now), though certainly still highly enjoyable. Bright acidity on the very end still helps enliven things but the tight, almost champagne-like carbonation that make Shaun’s sours so delightful is no longer very present here.

Tried from Bottle at Hill Farmstead Brewery on 31 Mar 2025 at 11:13


9.4
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9.5 | Flavor - 9.5 | Texture - 9 | Overall - 9.5

750mL bottle pour at the brewery, 2024.
Not much different than past vintages, which is a good thing, in my mind, as the past vintages are what made this beer legendary. Elegant, dry, complex....everything you want a saison to be, without much of the honey character (mostly just light fermentation character; very little actual honey). Light oak, light tannin, long mineral. Juicy, with a rich texture and deep malts. Lives up to the hype, in my opinion.

Tried from Bottle at Hill Farmstead Brewery on 31 Mar 2025 at 11:08


9.3
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9

May 2014 Magnum shared by Adam C on 7/25/15.
Hazy burnished copper with a good amount of fairly well-retained white head atop.
Brightness of Anna lightly dulled, but in the best way possible, replacing it with soft lactic acids. Again more of the floral-sulfur-grass thing going on (that’s my closest approximation to describing the aroma of these wonderful saisons, and it’s admittedly terrible and sounds unappealing, but I’ll work on it once I get a whole bottle to myself....). Bits of honey on the end are just begging you to drink it.
Very well-restrained on the barrel character, compared to Art. Bright acidity, wildflower notes producing the same light stickiness. As it progresses, you get a pineapple-near-the-rind sort of flavor that is nicely dry but still has some good tartness and a pinch of sweetness. Bits of vanilla and light wood with some juicier melon notes. Hard to describe, these beers of Shaun’s. The flavors are all so new to me and it’s overwhelming to try them all for the first time this weekend. I can say that the mouthfeel, balance and attenuation are perfect here once again.

Tried from Bottle on 31 Mar 2025 at 11:01


8.5
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

750ml bottle pours out hazy golden topped with a white head. Nose is soft floral notes spice and barrel. Taste is more of the nice soft notes very nice and happy to have finally tried this one.

Tried from Bottle on 18 Jan 2020 at 15:21


9
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9

Rating #1400 what up! Bottle @ Warpigs. Pours hazy yellow with a medium white head. Aroma is full of sweet honey, vinous, lemon zest, tropical fruits, grapes, funky subtle cheesy, yeasty, sweet esters. Taste is vinous tart but also very delicate and sweet, vinous, oaky, stone fruit, citrus, lime, oaky, grapey, estery. Insanely good saison!

Tried from Bottle on 06 Nov 2019 at 16:55


7.9
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5

750ml pours a clear orange gold with some soapy, white head. Nose is nice, apricots, perfume, unopened stone fruit, some green pear too, green grape, mild butter. Flavor is green with apples and grapes and pears, some white grapefruit, orange, a littlw waxy. Finishes tart and dry. Very good.

Tried on 20 May 2017 at 20:56


6.8
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7

Bottle. At war pigs hill farmstead even 2016 ... Hazy Amber.. Thin white lacing... dry bitter herbal fruit nose fruit.. dry fruit front.. light orange ... very dry and a herbal dryness element i got from a few of the others

Tried from Bottle on 09 Jul 2016 at 08:01


8.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

Bottle. Pours a hazy yellow color with a small white head. Has a fruity malty woody funky citrus yeasty aroma. Fruity malty sour funky woody citrus yeasty flavor. Has a fruity malty sour funky woody citrus yeasty finish.

Tried from Bottle on 20 Jun 2016 at 05:53


8.2
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9

100th Hill Farmstead rating. Bottle. Pours a hazy yellow with medium creamy white head that lasts. The aroma is strong funk, oak, floral, lemon zest, mineral. Medium body, funky, white wine, lemon, light finish, prefered CD11 over this side by side.

Tried from Bottle on 28 May 2016 at 14:21


7.8
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 8

[5/12/16] Bottle at Warpigs in Copenhagen. Cloudy yellow. Great funky and fruity aroma with barnyard, cellar, hay, earth, a vinegar note, oak, flowers, and a lemony touch. Funky flavor, floral, fruity, tart, with a vinegar hint and a bitterish finish. Medium-bodied. Great.

Tried from Bottle on 27 May 2016 at 09:10