Dorothy: Barrel-Aged
Hill Farmstead Brewery in Greensboro, Vermont, United States 🇺🇸
Farmhouse - Saison Rotating|
Score
8.32
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Dorothy (1921 – 1994). This wine barrel-aged version of our dry-hopped, Farmstead® pale ale is conditioned in oak barrels for 9 months prior to bottle conditioning. Crafted from American malted barley, malted wheat, New Zealand and American hops, our distinctive yeast blend and water from our well, this beer is dry hopped prior to packaging and naturally bottle conditioned.
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8.8/10
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Appearance 10
Aroma 8
Flavor 8
Texture 10
Overall 9
Bottle shared with Nelson at the brewery, 7/8/16.
Perfect appearance as expected. Huge white head is well-retained atop a blonde-copper-brass body with a gentle haze, at most, and plentiful carbonation.
The beautiful, clear brett of Dorothy is here in full force, though perhaps even more softened/refined from its time in the barrel. Immediately reminds of E., oddly enough, though it’s cleaner and more delicate, perhaps. Barrel character is reserved and it’s possible to imagine some wine notes, but they’re very light at best. Plentiful fruitiness; lime, nectarine, lemon and light pineapple all dance about on the nose with very light, soft honey and biscuit-like malts in the background. Rustic, charming house character adds plentiful minerality, completing the picture of a wonderfully hoppy, brett-filled, modestly funky, farmhouse beer. No alcohol or flaw.
Exquisitely tight carbonation, as HF’s best beers always exhibit softly spreads delicate, lemon-lime-like brett tartness about the palate. Soft, biscuit-tinged malts divulge more honey with warming, helping balance the acidity, though the beer never gets more than pleasantly tart. Juicy, lightly tropical and floral notes emanate from the hops, with low to moderate bitterness and a touch of wood at points, as well as suggestions of wine, if one looks for them. Fantastic stuff, overdone in no aspect. Wonderful balance is one of the best qualities and what separates the best of the best from the rest, as I think it does here.
Though I think barrel-aging is much over-hyped and over-used, I think the extra lagering it provides Dorothy here is actually highly beneficial in improving the beer, as I think Dorothy, like Arthur, can be a bit aggressive young.
Perfect appearance as expected. Huge white head is well-retained atop a blonde-copper-brass body with a gentle haze, at most, and plentiful carbonation.
The beautiful, clear brett of Dorothy is here in full force, though perhaps even more softened/refined from its time in the barrel. Immediately reminds of E., oddly enough, though it’s cleaner and more delicate, perhaps. Barrel character is reserved and it’s possible to imagine some wine notes, but they’re very light at best. Plentiful fruitiness; lime, nectarine, lemon and light pineapple all dance about on the nose with very light, soft honey and biscuit-like malts in the background. Rustic, charming house character adds plentiful minerality, completing the picture of a wonderfully hoppy, brett-filled, modestly funky, farmhouse beer. No alcohol or flaw.
Exquisitely tight carbonation, as HF’s best beers always exhibit softly spreads delicate, lemon-lime-like brett tartness about the palate. Soft, biscuit-tinged malts divulge more honey with warming, helping balance the acidity, though the beer never gets more than pleasantly tart. Juicy, lightly tropical and floral notes emanate from the hops, with low to moderate bitterness and a touch of wood at points, as well as suggestions of wine, if one looks for them. Fantastic stuff, overdone in no aspect. Wonderful balance is one of the best qualities and what separates the best of the best from the rest, as I think it does here.
Though I think barrel-aging is much over-hyped and over-used, I think the extra lagering it provides Dorothy here is actually highly beneficial in improving the beer, as I think Dorothy, like Arthur, can be a bit aggressive young.
Tried
from Bottle
on 19 Jul 2016
at 17:22