Bière de Norma
Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Farmhouse - Bière de Mars Spring|
Score
7.94
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Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7
Bottle shared by Chalumeaux--thanks, TJ! at OT Camp tasting. Hazy light brown with ring of head, trace lacing. Aroma is strong funk/barnyard with tart fruit. Taste is strong, earthy tart fruit and mild caramel. Smooth, frothy texture, average carbonation and finish as taste. Well done but more tart/funky than I like.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 9
2015 bottle drunk 7/24/15.
A brilliant, rich amber hued beer showing good clarity and topped by an off-white head that shows strong retention.
Wow. Not to take anything away from the flavors, but I’ll be damned if HF dosent have some of the most aromatically pleasing beers out there. After the disappointing incredibly over-barreled SP Saison du Ble, the wonderfully balanced and integrated barrel character in the nose here, was supremely refreshing. Soft, aged red wine character, minerals, light chalk and very low tannin character all build complexity, as dry toffee and brown bread-like malts creep in from the edges, adding just a touch of sweetness and allowing the wild character to present itself cleanly and clearly. Limes, hickory, cobwebby cellar, mild lactic influences and peppery phenols all dance about on the nose, with the wood both softening and deepening as it warms. I smelled this thing for about 5 minutes before even trying a sip. No alcohol, no flaws.
Flavor does not disappoint in the least. Soft, dry barrel character and soft, sweet malt character balance each other, while tight, ample carbonation further amplifies the softness/creaminess of the palate. Lightly acidic red wine notes, bits of oakiness and some dry mineral/chalk character build up slowly on the palate, as tart, lemon-lime-like brett notes add brightness and a bit of sharp acidity, as well. Lactic acids soften things, adding a pinch of mild yogurt/cheese-like character and it ends with soft malt and wood character trailing off, with pleasant, not-overdone acidity lingering lightly, as well.
Whew. What a beer! Over the course of this amazing weekend, trying all kinds of delicious, highly rated beers, I think this one would only be matched by Ann itself. And to think this beer had only 4 months in the bottle at this point. All signs point to this beer with 1-2 years of age on it being absolutely divine; the light touches of sharp acidity from the yeast/bacteria should soften, as well as allowing for the wine/barrel character to integrate just a little more. As it is, though, I’d be happy to drink this fresh any day of the week. Rating is for this bottle I had, but also the potential I think this beer has for being even better aged. Could very easily trying an older bottle and giving it a 5. Hope that happens!
Huge thanks to Adam C for opening this!
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Drunk 9/20/25.
Wow this smells fucking fantastic. Rich Brett and big cherry (which is also the Brett). Rich malt with honey and vanilla notes. Intense Brett and light lacto with light orange and such. Bright and intensely aromatic.
Juicy and toasty with lacto and very light Brett. Tart with big lemon. Not as much Brett from the nose in the flavor. But this is still a flavorful, intense fruity, amber saison/BdG. Vanilla, citrus and such.
Appearance - 9 | Aroma - 8.5 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
2014 draught, Fofa, 8/2/25.
Clear, bright, well-carbed.
Toast, bright red fruit and tartness without any excessive acidity or too much specialty malt. Mineral, earth, hints of vanilla. Very rounded and engaging.
Dry, hints of toast but still some malt depth/softness and a touch of honey, vanilla and a pinch of caramel. Rich mineral and bright red fruit with easygoing, well-aged fruit. Engaging and flavorful and still in great shape.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Pours hazy dark amber into a tulip. Tan head with little retention recedes to nothing. Tart apricot and pit fruit aromas. Soft with tart apple, apricot and mild cherry front to back. Medium length dry oak finish. Santé, Norm.
Mansquito (19100) reviewed Bière de Norma from Hill Farmstead Brewery 1 year ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 9
Bottle at share: pours copper with white head. Aroma toffee, lemony, lightly funky, some malt. Taste smooth, fruity, funky. Excellent. Aged well.
explosivedog (14050) reviewed Bière de Norma from Hill Farmstead Brewery 1 year ago
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 9 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8.5
Bottle, at share, 2017 vintage, thanks to Julie. Pours amber. Lemon, biscuit, apple juice, pear, toffee, prune. Nice spritz. Excellent.
Appearance - 7 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 7 | Overall - 7
2014 vintage into a taster showing dark amber with sparse white foam.
The nose shows lightly intense tart, earthy, and mossy notes.
The palate is moderately carbonated and medium bodied. Lightly tart with light flavors of peach and harmonious malt.
Alengrin (11609) reviewed Bière de Norma from Hill Farmstead Brewery 2 years ago
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Barrel aged ‘bière de mars’ (an originally 14th-century but now forgotten seasonal beer style from northern France, also called ‘bière de printemps’) by Hill Farmstead, one of their ‘ancestral’ beers, because Norma is the first name of the brewer’s maternal grandmother apparently. Medium thick, moussy, pale greyish white, stable head on a misty ruddy-bronze-tinged deep amber coloured robe (amber being the correct colour for bière de mars indeed). Aroma of pickled peaches, balsamico, redcurrant, sherry vinegar, old oxidized sparkling wine, old oak wood, oloroso sherry, passionfruit. Tart fruity onset, a bit lemony and slightly puckering at first, softening down further on, with notes of redcurrant, cranberry, medlar and passionfruit, over a vague touch of balsamic vinegar. Fizzy carbonation, supple body consisting of a hazelnutty and hard-caramelly malt character dried by lactic sourness, which retains its lively fruitiness throughout; woody tannins accentuate the drying effect even more, with these passionfruit, balsamic and sour red berry flavours lingering. Quite layered and elegant, with a strong retronasal effect of old oxidized (oloroso) sherry; they can call this a bière de mars and I am sure that is what it was like before it went into the barrel, but the bacterial microflora applied here has turned it into a sour ale – which, in combination with the nutty, darkish-amber malt character, has more in common with Flemish red (‘oud bruin’) than true French bière de mars. Regardless, this is a sophisticated sour ale by this famous yet somewhat elusive and fascinating craft brewer.