Pours clear into my tulip glass. Foam is 90% of the pour, white, fluffy, yet thick. Retention, as is expected for the style, is outstanding, while the foams stiffens up like meringue. Lacing is sporadic and minor.
Aroma has lemon, citrus, white pepper, and a touch of hay, barn, and mustiness that could be from wild yeast or bacteria in the barrel. No wine but a definite oak and slender vanilla scents add to the background.
Taste is ever so slightly sweet up front before an array of flavors develop: lemon, citrus, and the barnyard take center stage in the middle, while an earthiness hits early in the end, together with pepper, slippery citrus, and dry oak. The earthiness could be from the oak, brett, the wine, or a combination; delightfully elegant. Pepper finish continues to build on the palate, clinging to tightly throughout.
Low end of medium body. Carbonation is middle of the road in spite of all the foam. Dries the palate but there is enough citrus juiciness to hold it off some.
A real interesting spin on a Saison and one not wasted on my senses. Complex but a fun beer. I would like to have more of these concoctions from Hill Farmstead. Enjoy!
1,180 characters
Reviewed: Thursday, March 15, 2012 at 00:17:50
Tasted: Thursday, March 15, 2012
$0.00 for 750 ml bottle
Modal title
One fine body…
Untappd
(4.611)
over 1,919 ratings
Beer Notes
Art is the wine barrel fermented and aged version of Arthur (1922-2005), our grandfather's youngest brother as well as the name of our Farmstead Saison. In order to honor Arthur and his legacy, we acquired French Oak wine barrels and blended together a combination of fresh barrel fermented Saison and older, oak aged Saison. The result is the benchmark of our Saison production and the ale that I dream to have shared with Arthur and his family.