Bison Farmhouse Ale

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

22 ounce bottle purchased at BevMo? Aroma has plenty of banana notes...false banana notes. Fruity, floral, and musty aroma. Lightly peppery. I don’t know, this aroma is just lacking. Mildly hazy golden body with a small off-white head. Some fruity esters present in the start, which becomes a little rubbery and plastic. FInishes juicy and with lightly hoppiness. Not overly dry or crisp. I don’t know...doesn’t really taste like a quality saison.

poured a cloudy golden color with a small white head.wheat and citrus coming up thru the nose.Flavor of citrus, bread and malts.Had a nice tart finish.

Fresh 2007 bottle. Hazy, light tangerine-yellow color with a tiny bit of sediment. Medium, frothy white head that settles to a patchy, thin film with a thick, foamy, tapered edge. Minimal spots of sudsy lace dot the glass. The aroma shows orange chiffon, fresh farmhouse yeast, tart lemons, and fresh crabtree apples. The nose is very bright and fruity, which is a good prelude for the first taste. The flavor shows lightly bitter citrus, light cream, tart apples, and very subtle, mild spices. Short, moderately tart finish. Near perfect body for the style, which is ever so slightly heavier than the median. Really fresh from start to finish. I wonder what some aging would do. Solid beer.

This saison is particularly bubbly. It has a large foamy head and the bubbles just keep rising from the bottom of the glass. Very full aroma - spicy (coiander, ginger) and yet it is also earthy/grassy/herbal. The flavor is great. Superbly balanced honey sweetness with a perfect maltiness. Despite the high carbonation, it is very soft and the mouthfeel is perfect. Very, very delicious saison.

Thanks to beerlando for this much sought-after brew - 2007 silk-screened bomber (that says it’s organic), poured into a hennepin glass - lightly hazy, golden beer, with lively carbonation, and a soft, frothy head - light tartness and acidity in the aroma, with light honey sweetness, orange peel, wildflower, and light mustiness underneath - high, but soft carbonation in the mouth - somewhat creamy mouthfeel - grainy, wheaty, earthy flavor - soft floral notes, with spicy hops in the mix - some melon rind, apple, peach notes - light tartness in the finish - very nice - the first truly great organic beer I’ve had, and it’s a saison - nice!

06 brewmaster’s reserve, or something like that. Anyway, pretty tasty stuff - Very flowery nose, with a hint of fruit or melon or something like that. Nicely sweet tasting, with the melons again and also banana. Some definate herbal note, too. Very rustic, and pretty darn tasty.

This beer pours with a brilliantly clear, bright gold, copper tinged color. It is toped by a two finger thick, pale, white colored head. The nose has enticing aromas of citrus, grass, fruity malt (apple, pear and green raisin), and an earthy spice character that is almost coriander like. The orange and coriander note are very noticeable, yet not overwhelming; I am actually surprised that these are not listed in the ingredient list.

This beer is somewhat sweet, with sweet malt notes of honey and sweet grain. This quite herbal as well, with a nice hoppiness of lemon grass, light basil and a touch of menthol / hay. Very clean tasting, this seems to have been overly filtered, which is a bit disappointing. The beer finishes with a fairly solid bitterness as well as that menthol like note & a spicy orange zest character. Fairly light bodied, though perhaps not nearly as much as I would like for a proper Saison, but it does hit that nice quaffable character that a decent one needs.

This is quite good and tasty, but I fell like it could be so much more. A bit more depth and a bit more complexity would go a long way here.

Courtesy of Degarth. 2006 vintage. Golden, cloudy orange body with a huge, bubbly white head that refuses to go away. Damn, this smells very much like a Gueuze, very tart and full of funky barnyard aromas. Also get some coriander and other assorted spices, along with lemon and wheat. A lot going on here. It tastes pretty damn good as well, a bit of funk but not as much as you would think from smelling it. What it does have is oranges, lemons, wheat and spice, very well balanced. Good carbonation. Medium bodied. Finish is tart, crisp and satisfying. Excellent.