Bison Farmhouse Ale

Brewed by Bison Brewing Company
Style: Saison
Berkeley, California USA

Bright golden in colour, fairly clear with a thin white coloured head and some light patchy lacing. The aroma is floral, some perfume, herbs, yeast, some spice with a moderate sweetness. The flavour has lots of perfume, very herbal, strong and spicy, quite a bit of bread. Spicy mouthfeel, medium body, medium/high carbonation. Finishes floral and spicy.

This wasn’t all that great. Boring compared to all the other beers from the sour tasting.

650ml bottle obtained in a trade with TheCheeseMan, thanks Dan.
Opened on March 29, 2008
Vintage 2007.

Thanks Santa! Slightly hazy gold, white head. Nose is doughy malt, yeast, some hoppiness, a bit of lemony funk. Flavor is bready malt, a hint of lemon, yeast, lots of breadiness towards the end. Nice & dry but still somehow cloying - its very odd, there is fruit & bread but great dryness too.. Maybe some bubblegum/german hefe characteristics in the finish. Odd.

English pale ale aroma - slightly tannic, pale malt, yeasty, tart fruit. Excellent, excellent, painted label on a bomber. Golden, lighlty misted brew with a webby-beady slightly off-white head. Lemony, a little peppery, light to moderate sweetness, light astringency, some phenols or other chemicals in the flavor mix. Medium body, lemon zest in the finish. Good, different, it’s a style that’s sometimes technically good but unenjoyable, but this is decent.

This one noted "2006 Reserve" on the bottle. Light bronze appearance with decent mix of cream and foam head. Mild uric acid yeastiness wafts off the glass along with light dashes of pepper. Flavor is strongly sour and acidic, in fact, unpleasantly so. Wheat and yeastiness are overwhelmed. Soapy notes materialize on the finish. While this might be true to traditional style, it is not a Saison I would readily try again or recommend.

Pours a cloudy light orange with a lasting white head and lacing. Aroma is lightly sweet with dough, citrus, spices and some grass. Flavor is more of the same only in a larger scale. Finishes abruptly and tart. Medium bodied, sticky texture.

Golden in color with a moderate fluffy head. The aromas were herbaceous with a bunch of dill showing through. In the mouth it starts off fine but quickly fades leaving little flavor.

So far I’ve had every batch of this beauty. Still I believe it may be my favorite Bison product. My review is of the 2006: Pours a golden amber with slight head retention. Citrus, hops, farm waft to the nose. Flavor brings out grass notes combined with slight tart citrus hints, old hops, and a bit of spice. Lingering finish of grass and spice. Really like the delicate hop profile within this one as well. And funky 16.9 oz swingtops? Sold!

Straw gold pour with tight white head and lace. Aroma of Belgian yeast and corriander dominate. A sourish flavor that reminds me of bad apple juice. A hint of malt as well. Thin and watery and just a bit foamy. Poor example of the style to me but not undrinkable.