Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
I guess this beer comes off as it was intended to, kind of a base for something special to be done to it. It looks well enough, very cloudy dark golden. Aroma is earthy yeast with a bit of moldy, musky (British malts almost) aspect to it. Taste is, a basic thick wheat ale. Its very grain-y for sure, like a wheat cereal. Not much past that, make a stronger, thick wheat ale and that’s what you got here.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Tap @ 20th Anniversary celebration. The pour is good for a Tripel, hazy/cloudy golden, radiant yet not too much clarity. Aroma is a thick Belgian yeastiness that become a bit astringent. Some grassy biscuit aspect in there as well. The elements are all there but not coming together too well. This is reflected in the flavor, just not integrating well. Added to that is a bit of alcohol heft and a light banana ester touch, which I enjoy. This is probably the best Belgian traditional style beer they have done but it can improve.
Appearance - 6 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
I hate to be that guy, and then again, am I drinking a completely different beer. Or is everyone enamored with Free State so much that they are too biased by the old ratings? Either way, this beer is extremely overrated, as far as I am concerned. Tap at the 20th Anniversary celebration. Color is clear amber. Aroma is thick with yeastiness (dough) and lots of sweet biscuit malts. All this really hides the cube-ness of their hoppiness. The hops come off sticky and there is too much residual sweetness. This is mimicked in the flavor as it becomes a bit cloying for me. Its also very candy-like in the mix of residual sugars and hops. Its fine as an IPA but nothing special, I’ll take the Copperhead any day.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7.5
Taster at the brewpub. Color is black, has a small khaki head. Aroma is clean German matls with light roast and a bit of effervescence (for me it is wheat but i guess its the rye). Taste has slight roast again which is offset by the effervescent rye again. Its a cool schwar (or it could be a stout, but I am thinking schwarz) with that side component of rye.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 9 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 9
I hate the fact that FS teases people with this beer but doesn’t release till Friday when all the beer geeks have made there trip out. Luckily I happen to live in Lawrence. Unfortunately, I wish they had made more of this, so I can drink it all the freaking time. A snifter pour at the brewpub that is completely murky, I mean cannot see through it at all. Its all brown and thick, very dense looking. The head, oh the head on this thing, khaki colored and super strong, never fully subsiding. Aroma is BAM! All up in you. Its got sour brown rotting apples with lots of alcoholic grape and some melon. The alcohol accentuates the fruitiness and it becomes a cavalcade of craziness. You could feel the strong malty and yeasty Belgian aspects have been overtaken by some alcoholic barrel and sourness. Taste has a similar alcoholic spike with some effervescent sweet brown sugar with a heavy apple skins aftertaste. Layer of flavors playing off of each other. The mouthfeel was just ok, I was hoping something a bit thicker and slicker (more like their Owd Macs). I was blown away by this beer, highly impressed, I wish I could drink this again.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6
12 oz draft at the 20th anniversary party for Free State. Pour is hazed golden with a 1/2 inch white head. Nice lacing. Aroma of sweet blueberry, cranberry and raspberry. Bit of lemon with some sugar. Some wheat behind that in the nose. Taste is syrupy berry (the same as the nose in this order) cranberry - raspberry - blueberry, all with more sweetness than tartness. Not really natural tasting, after the sweetness is the grainy earth wheat, which was actually quite nice. Some tart sour jumps out at the end. Grassy grainy thin medium palate. Clean finish.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 6 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 6.5
12 oz draft at the brewpub during the 20th Anniversary of Free State celebration. Pour is hazed golden orange with not much of a head. Despite this, there is some nice white lacing as the beer falls. Aroma of not much, some wheat, maybe some light earthy yeastiness. Taste is tart sour wheat, with some residual waxiness near the finish. The aftertaste has some floral hop spice bitter thing going on which was nice. Palate is thin to medium, which led to this being a nicely drinkable beer. Overall, nice straight forward wheat ale.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 6 | Texture - 6 | Overall - 7
Growler from the brewery, filled 5 days previously, by way of JB. Pour is only the slightest haze - golden with a one inch off white head. Nice lacing sticks to the glass as I drink it down. Aroma was immediate upon opening the growler, bright fresh spruce pine and sap. Once its in the glass, some nice resin bitterness comes through, with toasted Pils malt and a very faint hint of vanilla sweetness. Fresh and complex nose. Taste is the bitter resin pine hops and sweet bready malt. There is also a bright chemical sharpness that was a bit of a surprise. Wasn’t too pronounced, but was distracting. Palate is on the thin-medium side, slick with a grassy finish. The pine hops linger. Overall, an interesting beer - this is the first of these "big Pils" that I had that actually tasted like a Pilsener. Thanks for lugging this back from Lawrence, JB.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Growler shared by / with Gregis. Pour is brown copper, slight haze with a nicely formed one inch off white. Nice settling. Pretty lacing. Aroma of English grainy hops and some grassy maltiness. Taste is grainy cereal biscuit maltiness, English hops, piney hops, and mineral earthiness. The finish is dry with a nice brace of bitterness. There is also a bright element to this that doesn’t quite work, detracting from the taste a bit. Palate is medium, mouth coating, dry at the same time. Overall, a really nice session beer, perhaps drifting more towards an EPA, but I like that. This should be a regular lineup beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 8
Shaker pour at the brewpub. Comes to me with a stick and large brown head atop of a black body. Aroma is hoppy (green, vine-y hops)/ with some slick prune. Taste is a lot more slick with prune, tobacco and some bitter green hops at the end. The aroma is less interesting with straight hoppiness mainly but better, richer aspects in the flavor. Has a thicker, lightly viscous mouthfeel that goes well with the rest of the beer.