Saison

Civil Disobedience #14

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I have been very fortunate to have sampled deeply from the Hill Farmstead catalog, but the grand majority of my experience has been with their highly sought after IPAs and their saisons. When it comes to barrel aging, I’ve not had much at all. A small bit of Flora at a tasting once, maybe one of their collaborations, but otherwise not so much. Thus, when I lucked into Civil Disobedience #14 during my last visit, I was quite excited. Per early reviews, the carbonation was still developing, and knowing the way I generally react to such a thing, I decided to sit on the bottle for a few months (and yes, the carbonation was indeed fine when I drank this).

Civil Disobedience is a “Blended Barrel Series” and this is the 14th batch (most batches are pale like this one, but every 4th batch tends to be a darker blend). This batch is a blend consisting primarily of barrel aged Anna and Florence from Summer 2012 through Summer 2013. It was bottled in January 2015 and released on July 8, 2015, so it appears the beer spent quite some time in the barrels (16 to 30 months). I have never managed to wrangle Anna, but I bought two cases of Florence a couple years ago and it has developed into one of my go-to saisons, very light, but tart, perky, and delicious. So let’s brush up on our Thoreau and stage a nonviolent beer drinking session:

Civil Disobedience #14

Hill Farmstead Civil Disobedience #14 – Pours a hazy yellow color with a finger of big bubbled head that is not long for this world. Smells very nice, light funk, musty and earthy, lots of vinous fruit, some more tart, lemony character, maybe a little oak. Taste is sweet, lots of vinous fruit, tannins, a nice moderate sourness, well balanced oak. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, medium bodied, moderate acidity, a little dryness up front, but more sticky in the finish. Overall, this is some fabulous stuff. A

Beer Nerd Details: ? ABV (somewhere around 5.5-6%) bottled (375 ml). Drank out of a charente glass on 2/5/16. Bottled: 01 2015. Batch 14.

I have to say, these Hill Farmstead saisons seem to age pretty well. 2014 Florence is drinking fabulously right now, and I’m betting bottles of 2015 Arthur are starting to peak too. Dorothy’s hop character is fading (and I don’t think I have any left), but it’s still pretty good anyway. Counting the days until my next trip, which is vexingly vague right now (though definitely a trip in July, we may figure out an earlier jaunt).

Birra Del Borgo Duchessic Ale

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Given my heritage, it’s surprising how little Italian beer I’ve sought out. I suppose most Italians reach for a glass of wine with their meals, but I’ve been hearing for years that the Italian beer scene has been exploding. Alas, I’ve not had a ton of great Italian beer. I’ve always chalked this up to availability. It’s not like Italians are getting that sweet Tired Hands juice on the reg, so it stands to reason that I’m not seeing the best of their scene either. A friend who recently went to Italy mentioned that a lot of wineries sorta do brewing on the side, stuff that I assume doesn’t get distributed far and wide. This obviously means I need to get off my arse, renew my passport, and tour some Italian winery/brewery hybrids.

In the meantime, I’ll have to make due with the stuff that does find its way over here. The Italian beer I have enjoyed usually has a distinctly Belgian bent to it, and this is no exception. Indeed, look closely and you’ll see that this is a blend of Birra Del Borgo’s standard Duchessa saison (not a particularly heralded beer) and 1 year old lambic. Upon even closer inspection, it turns out this is a collaboration with Cantillon. I mean, if you’re going to blend 20% of lambic into your beer, I guess Cantillon would do the trick. Maybe. The releases of this are somewhat irregular and they apparently sometimes suffer from that ropey Brett viscosity (drinkers of Fantome know what I’m talking about) that they fix before it’s released (there’s a video explaining this… but it’s not subtitled, so have fun with that.) Anywho, this marks the second time in the past month that I’ve drank a beer blended with a small amount of lambic. So far, these don’t seem to have the complexity or elegance of their fully lambic counterparts, but the blending does add some nice notes for sure. How does this one fare?

Birra Del Borgo Duchessic

Birra Del Borgo Duchessic Ale – Pours a hazy yellow color with a few fingers of white, fluffy head that has lots of retention and leaves tons of lacing as I drink. Smells of Belgian yeast, a little bready, some spicy phenols, and plenty of fruity notes, but then the lambic makes itself known with hints of musty, earthy funk and tart fruit. That lambic funk comes out even more in the taste, which has a very nice little tartness to it, fruity and a little funky. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, crisp, and effervescent, lightly acidic and absolutely bone dry. Overall, this is a nice catch for those looking to get a mildly Cantillon-esque feel, and it comes off like a tart saison (which, I guess, is what it ultimately is). Well worth seeking out, though not quite mind-blowing in complexity. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5.9% ABV bottled (11.1 ounce). Drank out of a flute on 2/6/15.

I don’t know how widespread this was distributed, but I know of at least two places that have it sitting on the shelf right now, and they’ve been there for a while. I guess being sequestered in the Italian beer section gets them passed over or something. I should really seek out more of my Italian brethren’s beer sometime. For now, I think I’ll just snag some Italian wine for the upcoming beer fast…

Logsdon Szech ‘n Brett

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We’re big fans of Logsdon Farmhouse Ales here at Kaedrin. They really know their Brettanomyces, and produce some of the better funky saisons that are generally available (… where they distribute, at least). They’ve done great things with oak aging and added fruit as well, so it’s time to tackle a session saison. Well, sorta.

Szech ‘n Brett is kinda toned down from their flagship Seizoen Bretta and it’s got added Szechuan spice (I see what they did there) to make up for the shortfall. Kinda. At 6.5% ABV, this isn’t toned down all that much… Now, I’m not a British session zealot, but I’m not an Adam Avery “17% ABV beer is sessionable, your session just ends sooner” type either, so this does feel a bit off. Nothing worth getting in a twist about, but to my mind, if you’re going to go “session”, go all the way. On the other hand, that’s all just kinda marketing fluff, what about the juice? Let’s dive in:

Logsdon Szech n Brett

Logsdon Szech ‘n Brett – Pours a very pale, cloudy yellow color with a finger or two of fluffy white head and great retention. Smell has that trademark Logsdon house funk, more fruity than earthy, pears and the like, plus a little spice… um… spicing up the nose. Heh. Taste also hits those juicy pear notes, a little more funky Brett earth that melds pretty well with whatever spice is being brought in here, something peppery (turns out it’s Szechuan pepper), though I don’t know that the spice is necessary. Mouthfeel is lightly bodied, highly carbonated, and effervescent, quite dry but with a little juicy kick in the finish that suits it well. At 6.5%, this is approachable, but not really a session beer. Overall, this is another solid entry from Logsdon. I prefer Seizoen Bretta, but this is certainly a worthy twist on the saison. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.5% ABV bottled (750 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 1/29/15. Bottle No. 6949. Best By: 10/2019.

Always on the lookout for new Logsdon stuff, and they do seem to be slowly expanding their lineup over time, which is nice. I’m sure you’ll be hearing more about them sooner rather than later.

Tahoe Mountain Recolte Du Bois Apricot

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Thanks to the ever generous Jay from Beer Samizdat, I’ve had the pleasure of drinking a few beers from Tahoe Mountain and found myself quite pleased with their offerings. Their Provisions saison is a pretty standard take on the style, but of course they’ve been doing more adventurous things with that most vague of styles (I kid because I love). Enter their Recolte Du Bois (translates to “harvest of the wood”) series of Brett-dosed, barrel-aged saisons, music to my earballs. Some are fruited, some are aged in various wine casks, and one is even made with sage. What we have here is the Apricot Saison, which wound up being quite nice:

Tahoe Mountain Recolte Du Bois Apricot Saison

Tahoe Mountain Recolte Du Bois Apricot – Pours a mostly clear straw yellow color, gorgeous when held up to the light, with a finger of white head. Smells of apricot. I mean, there’s other stuff going on here, a little farmhouse, funk, but nothing that overpowers the apricot. The taste starts out with more of that traditional farmhouse feel, slight funk, fruity esters, very light spicy phenols, and then that apricot kicks in towards the finish bringing a little tartness to the party, but there’s a nice earthy note that balances it all out too. Mouthfeel is crisp and light, well carbonated, very approachable. Overall, this is quite nice, not quite a full-on apricot bomb (which is, uh, not a bad thing), but not a lactic bomb like, say, Cascade Apricot either. Well balanced and very tasty. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.2% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 1/8/15. Bottled: 20150623.

So yes, I want more of these Recolte Du Bois variants, particularly interested in the Peach version, though they all sound great. Oh, and why not try some of their Dark Ages beers? Old Ale? Imperial Stout? Bourbon barrels? Yes please. Thanks again to Jay for introducing me to these fine purveyors of beer.

Marius Double Feature

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Forest & Main’s Marius series of oak-aged, fruited saisons is pretty clearly their most anticipated release. While normally laid back affairs, Marius releases tend to sell out right away. As a result, I’ve missed out on the first few releases. I finally got my act together for the most recent release, which was three different variants: Cherries, Peaches, and Plums. I split the Cherry with some friends and loved it (but never wrote down any notes – I’m the worst) so I was quite excited to crack open the other two whilst embarking on the great 2015 movie catchup. The Big Short kinda came out of nowhere and has a pleasingly odd pedigree, and I loved it. It’s actually kinda the best explanation for the 2008 economic crisis I’ve seen (save the source material, of course) and the humor is mildly effective at toning down just how insane the whole situation was (and kinda still is). Kung Fu Killer is, erm, less successful, though it has some nice martial arts action sequences that’d make it worthwhile for fans of that sort of thing. Fortunately, this beer made up for any of that film’s shortcomings:

Forest and Main Marius (Peach)

Forest & Main Marius (Peach) – Pours a striking, clear yellow color with a finger of fluffy head that has great retention that leaves a little lacing (for what it’s worth, the second pour was more cloudy). Smells nice, some musty funk, but lots of fruit too, those peaches coming through well. Taste has a very nice earthy, musty funk to it with a fruity peach kicker, some tartness and oak pitching in towards the middle and lasting through the finish. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, crisp, and dry, lightly acidic, almost quaffable. Overall, this is a winner, rivaling the Cherry though probably not exceeding it. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 1/2/15. Bottled 11/4/15. Released 12/20/15.

Forest and Main Marius (Plum)

Forest & Main Marius (Plum) – Pours a much more cloudy, darker yellow color with more head, at least two fingers, great retention, some lacing. Definitely has a distinctly different smell here, still some musty funk, but moreso than the Peach, and the plums certainly lend a different fruit character. Taste has more of a yeasty character to it, some of that earthy, musty funk, but also some more traditional estery feel along with the plum fruit, not as sour as the peach either, though there is a bit of tartness. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, crisp, and very dry, less acidic, though there is still something there. Overall, this too, is a winner, though not quite up to the level of Cherry or Peach. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 1/2/15. Bottled 11/4/15. Released 12/20/15.

More great efforts from Forest & Main. They’ve got an expansion underway, so I’m expecting to see great things from them in the nearish future.

Yuletide Beer Club

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I don’t know why I called this a “Yuletide” beer club except that ’tis the season and I am a bit tipsy (alas, none of the beers we tasted were particularly festive). For the uninitiated, Beer Club is a monthly get together amongst friends and coworkers (and former coworkers) to share some beer and partake in general revelry. We have been woefully neglectful of late, and indeed, after just barely sneaking a September meeting in at the very end of that month, we did not manage a meetup in October or November. But we’re back on track and managed a pretty good showing.

Yuletide Beer Club

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For the sake of posterity, some thoughts on each beer are listed below. Standard disclaimers apply, we were at a sushi place, not a sensory deprivation chamber. Notes are below, in order of tasting, not necessarily in the order pictured.

  • Fat Head Trail Head Pale Ale – It’s like a toned-down version of Fat Head’s Headhunter, dank, piney hops, tasty, a decent start for the night. B
  • Lost Nation Gose – Yup, a beer we’ve had many times here, and it’s a nice, light, tart beer that works well as a warmup beer.
  • Rubber Soul Dropout – A super fresh crowler from this brand newish (less than 6 months old) Maryland brewery that is rather obviously comprised of Beatles Fans. This is a pretty solid DIPA, nice citrus and pine hop presence, and a decent amount of bitterness too (this will come into question later in the tasting). B+
  • Trinity Red Swingline – Was not expecting much from this beer named after an Office Space reference, but it wound up being one of the better of the night, super funky and earthy, with a decent amount of hop presence, and only a hint of sourness. One of these days, I’m going to buy a waxed beer that will totally lead me astray, and I thought this might be it, but I guess not. Also of note, the wax job was rather weird, like they dipped it once, realized that wouldn’t be enough, so they dipped it again, and then just said “fuck it” and dipped it a third time because why the hell not. This is important, and I am totally justified in writing more about the wax job than the beer itself. B+
  • Free Will DC Cranberry Farmhouse – I picked this up at the semi-local Free Will release on Sunday. A pretty nice little saison number, but it’s more subtle than the beer we just drank, so I think it suffered a bit from the comparison. Still, it seemed pretty darned good. B or B+
  • Pretty Things Jack D’Or – Thus begins a little, informal tribute to the sadly now defunct Pretty Things brewing company, this is a little more sweet and raisiny than I remember, but it’s still relatively dry and a great match for the sushi we were eating at this point. B
  • Pretty Things Hopfenpop! – This was not a fresh bottle and you could sorta tell, but it was nevertheless pretty good and held up pretty well. I would have liked to have tried this one fresh, but for this, I’ll give it a B
  • Stone Double Bastard In The Rye – This wound up being a sweeter take on the Double Bastard (as compared to, say, Southern Charred or even the base beer), but the hop character survived and tries its darnedest to counteract the sweetness. Still one of my favorites of the night though, and pretty fantastic. B+ or A-
  • Troegs Impending Descent – The Scratch beer that keeps on giving, I managed to get up to Troegs this Black Friday and pick up some of this solid imperial stout, perhaps not as great as their initial vintage, I still love it.
  • Pretty Things Fumapapa – A very nice imperial stout with all the standard notes and an additional and very complementary smoked malt character that manages to make itself known without overwhelming anything (or making you wonder who put their cigar out in your beer). Very tasty, and damn, I’m going to miss these guys. A-
  • Dogfish Head Hoo Lawd – Yes, this beer’s premise, brewed to 658 IBUs (apparently the highest confirmed measurement ever, despite some others with higher “theoretical” IBUs), is gimmicky and such things tend to be hit or miss, but this was indeed an interesting beer to try. It pours a jet black color (i.e. not very IPAish), has a nice hoppy nose, dank citrus and pine, and the taste starts off just fine, like a malt-forward IPA, then the bitterness starts coming in towards the finish and building through the aftertaste. It’s kinda like when you eat a hot pepper and you’re all this isn’t so bad and then 10 seconds later your mouth is on fire and 10 seconds after that you think you might die. Alright, so it never quite approaches fear-of-death levels of bitterness, but it is very bitter, which isn’t that unusual, except that this lingers for much longer than normal. I’m really happy I got to try it and would recommend getting a sample if you see it, but the smallish pour I got was plenty, and it’s not something worth really hunting for. Interesting though and one of those things that makes it hard to rate. B

After the Hoo Lawd, we opened a couple of “palate cleansers” that were IPAs that basically tasted like water, so I won’t really go into detail on those. The Rubber Soul Dropout fared slightly better, but still didn’t taste bitter at all. Go figure. So that wraps up this beer share, look for more in January, I hope!

September Beer Club

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Tonight was beer club! For the uninitiated, beer club is a monthly gathering of like-minded coworkers and acquaintances at a local BYOB for drinks, food, and general revelry. This time, we stopped in at a local Pizza place for some deep fried dough, strombolis, and yes, pizza. It’s not a big place and the pizza isn’t as spectacular as the last beer club gathering, but we always manage to make due. Good attendance tonight too, and plenty of beer.

September Beer Club Selections

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For the sake of posterity, some half-addled thoughts on each beer are listed below. Standard disclaimers apply, this was a social gathering, so I wasn’t paying too close of attention to what I was drinking and you should totes ignore what I’m writing and make up your own mind because I’m totally the worst and this post is definitely an ill-advised idea that I’m only doing out of tradition because I’ve done it for all previous iterations of beer club and are you even reading this? Why? The beer notes are below, in order of tasting, not necessarily in the order pictured (and some later attendees brought some stuff that is not pictured):

  • Platform Speed Merchant White IPA – Not expecting much out of this Ohio beer brought back by a visitor, fantastic citrusy nose, more typical IPA-like taste. Quite solid though, and worth a look on its own. B+
  • Pizza Boy Hop Test #1 (Cascade Single Hop) – Yep, it’s a pale ale. The very definition of cromulence, this does nothing particularly special, but it’s an enjoyable little pale ale. B
  • New Belgium Pumpkick – Whoa there, this is quite perfumey, moar ginger than anything else, but that perfumey character really overpowers everything else with this beer. Not horrendous, but not a particularly good pumpkin beer either. C+
  • Firestone Walker Union Jack – Back in the early days of this blog, this would have been an A worthy beer, but grade inflation is a bitch. It’s still an accomplished and emminently accomplished IPA, well worth checking out. Delicious citrus/pine/malt balance. B+
  • Weyerbacher Tarte Nouveau – Very nice little tart beer, tart, crisp, refreshing, very light bodied and easy going, sorta beginner sour stuff but quite nice on its own. B+
  • Overshores Tripel Brun – Bottle a bit of a gusher, and thus carbonation levels a bit off, but this is basically a very raisiny Belgian strong dark. B
  • Brasserie De Blaugies / Hill Farmstead La Vermontoise – I know I’ve had this before, but apparently I never reviewed it. It’s not quite up to speed with the best of Hill Farmstead, but it’s a rock solid saison, earthy and spicy, quite delicious. B+
  • Fantôme Coffee Ruby – One of my contributions, this came off as surprisingly muted. There’s some coffee character that is definitely present, but it’s not overpowering at all, despite the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a ton of other stuff going on with this beer. It’s got a very, very mild funk to it, and the combination of the base with coffee doesn’t entirely blesh, but it’s certainly an interesting beer. A little weird, but could more interesting with more funk. Keeping in mind my legendary indifference to coffee, I’ll give it a B
  • Cascade Figaro – This is typical Cascade sour here, which is to say, it’s a fantastic little sour. I don’t get a lot of fig or lemon peel out of it, but it’s got that trademark Cascade lactic sour and oak character that just work so damn well. Generally agreed to be one of the best of the night. A-
  • White Birch Indulgence Ale (2014) – Not sure which version of this beer I tried (I think it’s this retired 2014 version), but it was labeled as a Belgian Imperial Stout, and it definitely had a sorta brighter take on the imperial stout style that worked really well. Lots of rich malt, light roast, some hints of Belgian character, but with the style’s inherent dark malt sweetness (i.e. not a dry or highly carbonated beer). Actually quite nice and among the better of the night. B+
  • Brewmaster Jack Barrel Aged Prinsipia Quad – Sounds great, but came out kinda limp, very boozy, a little raisiny Belgian character, but not at all balanced. Not terrible, but not quite getting the job done either. B-

And that just about covers it. We just got this one in under the wire, last day of the month. Will need to try and plan the next beer club soon. Great time, as always.

Tahoe Mountain Double Feature

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Tahoe Mountain is a new brewery to me, introduced by our mutual friend Jay from Beer Samizdat in a recent cross-country trade. They appear to hail from Truckee, CA, on the Eastern side of the state near, you guessed it, Lake Tahoe. In fact, it appears they’re just a few miles down the road from Kaedrin favorite FiftyFifty, which makes Truckee a pretty impressive little brewing town considering its location. They seem to be big on experimentation and barrel-aging, which is music to my earballs, so let’s take a closer look at the two beers Jay flung my way, drunk whilst engaging in a mini-Larry Cohen horror movie marathon.

First up is their “full-bodied, yet sessionable rustic multi-grain Farmhouse Ale”, a description bound to annoy English readers since it clocks in at 6.2% ABV. Perhaps these guys graduated from the Adam Avery “They’re all session beers” school of thought, though this is admittedly a pretty easy going beer. Strap in folks, it’s going to be a relatively smooth ride, but you can never be too careful:

Tahoe Mountain Provisions

Tahoe Mountain Provisions – Pours a hazy golden yellow color with several fingers of fluffy white head that sticks around and leaves lacing all over the place. Smells spicy, bready belgian yeast, with an almost grapelike fruit aroma kicking in too. Taste crackles with that spicy character, a little bit of a bite there, with only hints of yeasty esters lingering towards the finish. Mouthfeel is highly carbonated, crisp, and effervescent, very dry, but with enough firepower to keep it from feeling slight. Overall, what we have here is yet another rock solid but traditional style saison. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 6.2% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a Teku glass on 9/25/15.

Next up, we have a wild ale “aged two years in oak cabernet barrels with fresh cherries and blueberries”, which sounds a mighty bit more experimental than the previous beer. Let’s see what’s up:

Tahoe Mountain Viejo Rojo

Tahoe Mountain Viejo Rojo – Pours a dark amber color, deep robey tones, nice looking when held up to light, with a finger of off white head. Smells Flandersy, acetic sour cherries, a little oak and vanilla rounding things out. Taste has a nice rich sweetness to it, some of those sour cherries pitching in, dark vinous fruit, clearly some dark (but not roasty) malts contributing, vinegar and a nice, well matched sourness puckering things up in the finish. As it warms, the tartness creeps up earlier into the taste, but regardless, it’s more sweet than sour. Mouthfeel is full bodied and rich, well carbonated, some vinegary acidity cuts through it all, but is not overpowering. Overall, this is a really nice sour, along the lines of a Flanders red, and makes me want to check out more Tahoe Mountain stuff. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 7.8% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a wine glass on 9/25/15.

Certainly a promising start for a brewery I’ve never heard of before. Here’s to hoping Jay slings more of these my way in future trades!

Modern Times Lomaland

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Lomaland sounds like some ill-fated Lego theme park utopia, but the real-life origins of the name aren’t that far off. Founded in 1900 by a bunch of proto-hippies, Lomaland was a utopian Theosophical community located in Point Loma in San Diego. Apparently they were fans of weird architecture (Ivo Shandor? The timeline is actually just about right for that, though Shandor’s work is famously in New York) and planting trees, orchards, and shrubs, much of which survives to this day. I mean, it’s no Cloud Cuckoo Land, but it’s probably about as close as the real world ever got to such a place. Or not. I’ve never been to San Diego and know nothing about anything, so we should probably just get to the beer, which is a pretty traditional rustic saison in the Dupont mold, maybe a little on the lighter, drier side. Let’s catch a ride to Cloud Cuckoo Land and hang with Princess Unikitty whilst imbibing this:

Modern Times Lomaland

Modern Times Lomaland – Pours a clear straw yellow color with a few fingers of fluffy white head and decent retention. Smells very spicy, cloves all over the place, a little peppery note here or there, some fruity esters doing their thing. Taste is a little more subdued, but it’s the same gist as the nose, a little spice, clove and pepper, some fruity flavors coming to the fore towards the finish. Mouthfeel is light bodied, well carbonated, crisp, and very dry, on the quaffable side too. Overall, rock standard saison material here, not going to blow you away, but a nice canned beverage. B+

Beer Nerd Details: 5.5% ABV canned (16 ounce pounder). Drank out of a tulip glass on 9/18/15. Canned on 7/13/15.

Many thanks to Jay of Beer Samizdat for sending this one along. Modern times as a pretty great line of beers. I’d love to get my hands on some Funky Lomaland (basically this beer dosed with Brett and aged in wine barrels) or the BA variants of Monsters’ Park.

Tired Hands Conspectus

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Now that the Fermentaria is open, it’s getting difficult to keep up with the sheer variety of awesome emanating from the fine brewers at Tired Hands. I still hit up one location or another pretty often, but the small batch style simply yields a lot of new brews. Also, I’m getting more and more lazy about writing down any sort of notes on the beer I’m having, which means it’s getting difficult to even remember what I’ve had. Still, I manage to squirrel away some notes every now and again, so I might as well append them to the more detailed tasting notes on two highly prized bottles.

First up is Parageusia5, a Cabernet Franc barrel-fermented Ale, aged for approximately 12 months. This is a prized line of sours, and this one takes a distinctly more Flandersy take than previous Parageusias, and while it doesn’t quite live up to the hallowed realms of the first few iterations, it’s pretty darned fantastic. This quote accompanies the beer:

“Trigeminal prisim on a sunny hillside. Will you engage indefinitely?” – Christian Zellersfield

I can kinda, sorta parse that, and my answer is yes. I will engage indefinitely. Or I would, but I only had this one bottle:

Tired Hands Para5

Tired Hands Parageusia5 – Pours a very dark, clear amber color, very pretty when held up to light, with a finger of off white head that sticks around for a bit. Smells of vinous fruit, cherries, oak, and acetic sourness, kinda Flandersy. Taste starts rich and sweet, cherries and oak followed by a bit of acetic sourness, vinegar, vinous fruit, finishing on that sour note. Mouthfeel is full and rich up front, but less so towards the finish, moderate sourness and acidity, reasonably well carbonated. Overall, doesn’t quite compare to the initial Parageusia offerings, but is pretty impressive in its own right. Also: match with dark chocolate. Delicious. A-

Beer Nerd Details: Squiggle, Squiggle ABV bottled (500 ml waxed cap, no ABV listed, just various squiggles and tentacled creatures on the label). Drank out of a flute glass on 9/6/15.

Next we have one of them swanky beer and music collaborations, in this case it’s jazz musician Mike Lorenz, who released an album of Black Sabbath and Nirvana covers along with this beer (Jean provided the art for the album, git that vinyl while it’s still around), Scentless And Senseless. Lorenz is a fixture at Tired Hands, playing a show once a week and sometimes humoring the beer nerd masses during bottle releases. This beer is an oak fermented Saison dry hopped with Equinox and Mosaic, right up my alley:

Tired Hands Scentless and Senseless

Tired Hands Scentless And Senseless – Pours a very pale, cloudy straw yellow color with a finger of white head. Smell definitely has that foudre thing going on, a little oak and vanilla, big citrus aromas too, partly from the funk, partly from hops. Taste hits again with that foudre character pretty hard, dry oak, vanilla, some citrusy fruit in the middle, just a bit of tartness, followed by some earthy funk in the finish. Mouthfeel is well carbonated, light body, hints of sourness, some very dry character happening, right up front too. Overall, a step up from the previously released foudre bottle (Astral Plane), and pretty delicious in its own right. A-

Beer Nerd Details: 6.6% ABV bottled (500 ml). Drank out of a flute glass on 9/12/15.

Dudholio – 4.5% ABV maize saison with motueka and Brett – Great little saison, light Brett feel, moderate fruity hops, and well carbed, really enjoying this! A-

Milkshake IPA – 7.4% ABV blackberry and blueberry IPA brewed with lactose sugar and Mosaic and Citra hops – So a while back one of the “Bros.” from BeerAdvocate published a review of a cloudy pour of HopHands and called it a mess (the Bros. have a bug up their arse about beer clarity, I guess), saying literally “Milkshake beers are not a trend or acceptable with modern styles… No excuses.” In response, Jean and crew have put together a series of “Milkshake” IPAs (that actually use lactose and are also generally cloudy beers); as usual, it’s a fun way to respond to criticism. Anywho, this was a great Tired Hands style IPA, juicy fruit, fuller bodied than normal but velvety smooth, great! A

Hissing at Snakes – 7.5% ABV Rye IPA – Simcoe, Amarillo, and Nelson Sauvin, typically great TH IPA with a spicy rye kick, really nice! A-

Neutral Impulse From The Visual Cortex – 6.2% ABV IPA – Nice citrus hops and a surprising honey note, almost creamy mouthfeel… B+

Expansive Vestibule – 6.1% ABV sturdy Porter – Nice nose, dark chocolate and vanilla, with a more roasty taste and a relatively light body… B+

Einsteinium – 5% ABV hoppy sour – Not a huge fan of hoppy sours in general, though this is working just fine… B

Rutilant – 5.9% ABV Nelson Sauvin & Simcoe IPA – Beautiful little IPA, typical Tired Hands stuff but with significantly more carbonation, really nice… (IIRC this is one of the first beers I had at the Fermentaria, which seems to have a different carbonation profile) A-

Temporary Shape of My Own Person – 5.2% ABV Grissette – Like a slightly tart version of a typical th saison, crisp and light, refreshing summer drinking… B+

Vaporizer – 6.8% ABV IPA – Ah, now this is a typical TH IPA , bright, juicy citrus hops, something a little more on the green, grassy, floral hop side as well. Nice! B+ or A-

I’m Sad – 8.5% ABV imperial honey coffee Porter – Interesting interplay between the honey and coffee, both are there, but the combo sorta works for me, despite not particularly liking either honey or coffee! B

Can’t Keep Up 23 – 5% ABV blended sour saison – Whoa cucumbers, blend of HandFarm, Parageusia, and Saisonhands conditioned on lemon, cucumber and agave nectar, tasty! Have liked other Can’t Keep Up beers better, but this is nice. B+

Slowly Rotating Mass With Bright Lights – 5.2% ABV crushable pineapple IPA – Solid IPA, delicious and juicy, very light and quaffable, A-

Rigel – 6.8% Rye India Black Ale – This is all I wrote about this beer, and yeah, I don’t really remember anything about it, though I’m guessing that means it didn’t melt my face (nor did it make me do a spit take in disgust).

Fripp – 4.5% ABV American Bitter – Very nice bitter base with sweeter, more citrusy hop character, quaffable in the extreme! B+

Honey, I Love You – 5.8% ABV Honey Saison – Beautiful little saison here, nice citrus and spice character, a little oak and tartness in the finish… Foudre beer starting to come into its own. Delicious! A-

Avoiding Purgatory #1 – 6.6% ABV India Black Ale – Hrm, surprisingly muted hops and roasted malt here, one of those IBAs that makes me wish I was drinking an IPA or Stout instead of this quasi hybrid. Lack of roast probably has to do with the use of debittered black malt, but the hops (lemon drop and centennial) aren’t doing the trick… Not really bad, to be sure, but TH has done much better in this realm! B

Yup – 5.1% ABV hoppy blonde ale – Amazing citrus nose, lemons and tropical fruit, tasty stuff! B+

Nope – 4.2% ABV dry stout – Polar opposite of Yup, dark, roasty, earthy goodness. B+

Rob “Strawberry” Berliner – 6% ABV strawberry Berliner Weisse – Very nice, lots of ripe, tart strawberry goodness, very well balanced, delicious. A-

Wound – 7.3% oat IPA – Awesome, back to basics Tired Hands style IPA, citrusy and floral, delicious! A-

Calm – 4.2% crushable IPA – Nice light pale ale, quaffable and refreshing. B+

Tuff Leather – 1.5% table saison – Whoa, beer nerd lite beer, nice carbonation profile, grassy, bready, a little watery, but not in a bad way for what this is… Very impressive for such a low ABV beer. B+

It’s Okay – 7.6% ABV IPA – Nice IPA, sweeter than normal, lots of citrus, hints of dank pine, more body than normal, but really good stuff here… B+

Yellow & Green – 5.6% ABV dry hopped Pilsner – Dry hopped with Ella and Helga, 2 hops I’ve never heard of before! Earthy, grassy, floral, with enough citrus to take it away from traditional pils profile, nice! B+

Perfectly Preserved Brain – 8.2% ABV English Smoked Barleywine – Moar earthy than expected, sweet, slightly burnt bread, interesting, but not amazing.. B

Lambos & Mansions – 4.8% ABV crushable Galaxy IPA – Nice citrus hop character, dry, quaffable stuff, very nice! B+

Fuzzy Yellow – 6.3% ABV local peach IPA – Typically solid th IPA, citrusy, balanced, tasty! B+

Petalite Songbird – 5.2% ABV gooseberry saison – Whoa, was not expecting the tart, fruity funk on this, really nice, looks like Emptiness culture stuff, which explains it. Great stuff… A-

Minnow – 8% ABV DIPA – Nelson Sauvin & Citra Very nice, sweet, delicious, juicy, almost vinous stuff. A-

Kuro – 5.5% lime leaf schwarzbier – Muted black malt, burnt sugar, something bright, very nice! B+

Pathway of Beauty – 6.8% ABV Citra IPA – Holy hell, this is amazing, juicy hops, compulsively quaffable, delicious IPA, a kinda successor to Psychic Facelift (one of my favorite TH IPAs of all time)… A

Tired Hands Freedom from the Known

Freedom from the Known

Freedom from The Known – 7.2% ABV Cherry saison – Whoa, this is the most cherry I’ve ever gotten out of a beer, ever. Sometimes cherry flavors in beer are overwhelmed by other elements, but not at all here. Cherries are the star. Kind of like a cherry version of Peche ‘n Brett. Amazing, tart, delicious, a little oak mellows things out, dryish, great stuff. A

Mosaic MagoTago – 7% Mango IPA – An interesting twist on the standard Simcoe Mago, beautiful juicy citrus IPA. Hard to believe this was on at the same time as regular Mago, Pathway of Beauty and Freedom from the Known. An embarrassment of riches at the Fermentaria! A

FunnieDuddie – 6.5% ABV Nelson Sauvin and Simcoe IPA – Typically good th IPA, but damn, this suffers from the comparison to the rest of the tap list right now. B+?

Yellow Fog – 3.7% cucumber Berliner wieise – Really nice, cucumber comes through well, still a nice tart beer, tasty! B

Lychee Milkshake IPA – 7.2% IPA made with lactose sugar, lychee purée, vanilla, and citra/Mosaic hops – Sweet and juicy, lots of citrus, almost rich, full bodied mouthfeel… Great! A-

Phew, that covers about 6-8 months of visits to Tired Hands, and honestly, I probably missed a few things. Indeed! I forgot to mention that the latest couple batches of SaisonHands, Tired Hands’ flagship saison (and one of two beers that is almost always available) that used to be a rock solid standard-approach saison, but now spends time in the foudre and wow! You can really tell, this beer has changed a ton since the Fermentaria opened, and it’s pretty amazing that it’s this regularly available. This is the sort of thing that keeps me coming back (also the potential for that one night they had MagoTago, Pathway to Beauty, and Freedom from the Known on tap, seriously astounding).