Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 3 | Flavor - 5 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 4.5
Poured into a tulip, the appearance was a glossy burnt semi-dark orange color with a thin layer of white foamy head quickly dies off. Stringy lace quickly slides off into oblivion.
The aroma leads with an overly sharp vinous quality bursting over earthy/dirty dry woody smells. Some sweet grass.
The flavor brings back that sharp vinous flavor with dry woody flavor. Vinous aftertaste and finish.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a dry sticky feel clinging to my tongue.
Overall, decent as a \"sour\" in the feel, but aromas and flavors are too vinous and not allowing the so called other ingredients to brighten up or shine in the beer.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 7 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Reviewed from notes.
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a semi-hazy sharp burnt orange color with a light muddy tone to it. Graced by a finger’s worth of white foamy head that dissipated evenly leaving some light stringy glossy lace.
The aroma starts off funky/cheesy/barnyard grassiness. But gently opens up into some strawberry sweetness and fresh piney/sumac. Nice, but odd how it goes from one extreme to another.
The flavor brings about the sweetness of the cheesy/barnyard grassiness, lets the funk delve into the sweetness of the strawberry and gracefully allows that fresh piney/sumac woody sweet to bitter edge aim to balance nicely.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a sly crisp sessionable to sipping quality about it. Mild carbonation. Soft dryness gripping my tongue. Seems to want to stick.
Overall, this says sour/wild ale and that’s what I believe this to be. Quite different and a nice sipper I had on New Year’s Eve.
Appearance - 10 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 10 | Overall - 8.5
Bottled 6/22/16, drunk 9/16/16, shared by Nelson.
Soft-toned, auburn-copper shows a very gentle haze and an off-white/beige head atop that is small, but fairly dense and showing moderate to strong retention.
Cedar is front-and-center, at least from amongst the three adjuncts here. Though even it is very tastefully done, with a spicy wood character that in no way overpowers the soft, lightly bready, well-attenuated malts. Poignant brushstrokes of juniper add a fruity-tartness, as the pine tips add zero astringency and give it a green, spicy, vegetal (the good vegetal) character. It all works well together, and in concert with the mildly-tart yeast, adding bright, fruity, lightly tart and pleasingly spicy aromatics, with a soft, mineral water-like character from Hill Farmstead. No alcohol or flaw.
Soft, spicy, fruity, but just very even for lack of a better word. There’s fruitiness and gentle acidity from the juniper, and the cedar adds mostly flavor (very little/no tannin) and somehow the pine adds no astringency. Easily the best treatment I’ve ever had of pine in a beer, which is not an easy ingredient to balance. Tight carbonation and a substantial body, yet nicely attenuated, with lightly bready malts, hints of caramel and light honey. Woody, spicy and lightly tart notes linger wonderfully on the end in a great balance, with a lip-smacking mint-like character in there as well.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 8 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
Pour at FoFa. Honey orange in color with a big freshly cut pine aroma, a bit of spice (white pepper) medium bodied, soft carbonation and it has a sort of waxy sharp finish. The taste gives a bit of pickle juice, lots of pine which makes for a really interesting beer. Check it out.
Appearance - 8 | Aroma - 8 | Flavor - 7 | Texture - 8 | Overall - 7.5
For my 56th brewery/brewpub of the state of Vermont, well, this subsidiary of Hill Farmstead did a saison their own way. Here are my findings. Bottled 2016.06.22.
This was poured into a tulip.
The appearance was a hazy burnt orange color with a thin white cap of a head slowly dissipated nicely.
The aroma starts off with a lemon twang in front of fresh juniper needles. Light grassiness.
The flavor brings it all together and adds a touch of cedar wood, very dryly.
On the palate, this one sat about a light to medium on the body with a sipping sour to bitter feel dragging on my tongue. Carbonation feels low.
Overall, they’re defining it as a saison, hmmm...it slightly fits. But then again, makes me think that practically anything can be a saison these days. Good for what it is, I’d still have again.