Bison Farmhouse Ale

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

Bottle shared with jerc, mabel, blankboy & mds - mabel’s bottle. Bright gold with a tight white head and lots of li’l bubbles, with a few floaties as well. Nose is yeasty, with notes of vanilla, apple, apricot and spice, and a subtle funkiness. Medium, soft body. Good flavour, with notes of tart citrus, spice, and herbal hops to finish.

Deep gold beer with very slight haze and unbelieveably active carbonation - this thing is just churning out bubbles and has a huge white head that recedes slowly. Smell is spot on citrus slightly sour saison funk. Taste somehow does not quite measure up. Some nice fruit flavors but a bitterness that is out of place, comes across like a touch of soap or chemical flavor, did something go wrong with this bottle? I know the glass was clean. The aftertaste is not too pleasant. Really dissappointing, I wanted to love this as it’s California made, organic, reasonably priced and in one of my favorite styles. It’s not terrible but the body is thin and the flavor is lacking - the slight bitterness and tartness seem out on their own instead of part of a harmonious taste. I will try this again but this bottle has problems.

2007 Organic Brewer’s Reserve 22 oz. bottle. Pours a slightly hazy deep golden color with orange highlights. Props up a nice thick white head which slowly fades to several quarter-sized blotches of foam. Aroma was very much of a straightaway Belgian-style ale without much of the typical farmhouse funk smells. Nose was that of sweet ripe apricot, banana, honey, lemon zest, light malts and a faint hint of herbs, spices and flowers. Lots of lively carbonation on the palate with a round fluffy texture. Some watery thiness noted in the finish. Presents a subtle, but nice complex flavor profile showcasing notes of lemongrass, clover honey, light malt, caramel, ripe banana and apricot with a faint background of spices, earth and herbs. An interesting but slightly distracting perfume-like flavor is sensed in the finish followed by a moderate, but balancing semi-dry hop-bitterness. Not a typical funky farmhouse-style Saison, but quite well done nevertheless.

Organic 2007 Brewer’s Reserve 2007 version. Pours bright gold hue, lively carbo, good frothy head, some sediment like gold flakes. Head dissipates fast but leaves lacing in its place. Aroma is musty and like tree bark and roots. Earthy-bitter. Flavors are similarly earthy-bitter, musty, dry, and some crab apple skin. Sour/bitter/alcohol. Decent mouthfeel. A little too prickly for my tastes.

500mL swingtop bottle from DA, drunk on 11/07/07 at about 4-6 months old.
Fabulous appearance, unfiltered, leaving the sediment behind to create a sparkling, clear, pale gold, brassy bottle with a mountain of white, rocky head that is stubbornly retained and shows profuse lacing.
Grassy, lightly leafy hops top off a deliciously estery and phenolic yeast character with a balanced, but tending dry, malt profile of light honey, nuts and a pinch of caramel. Lemon-lime hop and yeast acids linger on the finish, and as it breathes, the malt becomes more like fresh baked baguette, giving a rich, deep maltiness, though never getting too sweet. No alcohol or flaws.
Flavor, not surprisingly, shows a crisp, hop enlivened finish, that gives honey, nuttiness, moist whitebread and white pepper phenols on the way. Tight, engaging carbonation certainly helps its case, giving it a nearly creamy feel. But the dryness helps balance. Esters remain on the finish. Perhaps a bit more "sourdough"-like notes than I’d prefer and it could stand to be a touch more dry, but this is certainly flawlessly brewed, authentic stuff. Nothing wild, funky or particularly unusual, but correct attenuation and a proper yeast will go a long way in a saison. The restraint and low alpha acid qualities of the hops are just icing on the cake.

In short: Very clean and crisp basic Saison (the not wild/funky type). Nice.
How: Mtl crew pre-Xmas 2007 tasting session. Relatively fresh I think. Bottle acquired from Beerlando, thanks a lot.
The look: Almost clear blonde body with small white head.
In long: Shy aroma. Lightly toasted white bread with some crisp honey. Light fruity notes of grapefruit and distant citrus. Body is more fizzy than fluffy. Dry grassy hops provide an adequate balance. A crisp and very refreshing Saison rather than a wild and funky one. Nothing stands out here but to me well-brewed Saisons are like Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, I can be very satisfied with simply the average ones.

650 ml bottle from Bevmo. Yellow amber with a fluffy white head. Earthy, fruity, and Belgian yeast aroma. Good mildly citrus taste with a nice refreshing crispness.

Light orange in color. Citrus, floral hops, spice, must and some sweet pale malts in the aroma. Taste is floral hops, sweet unattenuated malt, some spice and yeast. Needs to be dryer, I think.